The current U.S。 administration sees China as the United States’s principal global rival， and it has effectively declared economic war on the country。
现任美国政府视中国为美国在全球的主要竞争对手，它也有效地在经济领域向中国了宣战。
Its justification for this is largely that China is （1） stealing American jobs and （2） pirating American intellectual property。 Data collected by the Long US-China Institute suggest that China is far less guilty of these crimes than many policymakers and commentators would have us believe。
During the period covered in the exhibit， two major trading agreements were struck。 The United States granted Permanent Normalized Trade Relations （PNTR） to China in 2000 and， in the following year， China joined the World Trade Organization （WTO）。
上图所展示出的时间段内，达成了两项主要的贸易协议：美国于2000年给予了中国永久性正常贸易关系地位，次年（2001年）中国加入世界贸易组织。
Neither event hampered the steady growth in purchasing power for Americans， whose per capita GNP rose from $37，900 to $62，600。
It did rise to 6% in in 2002， which could be attributed to trade with China， but the 9/11 terrorist attacks and the dot.com bust make this an uncertain conclusion at best。
The unemployment spike we see in 2009 is probably best explained by the 2008/9 recession， and since then， unemployment has steadily declined to a rate （3.9%） lower than that reached in 2000。 Few would conclude from this that trade with China has damaged US incomes or jobs。
In terms of IP theft， there’s actually a clear improvement。 The Business Software Alliance reports the extent of losses to American software producers in 116 countries。 As the exhibit below shows， these losses are declining in the United States， Chinese mainland， and Hong Kong。
▲Is China Actually Stealing American Jobs and Wealth？
（数据via美国商业软件联盟；图viaHBR）
而且，作者还特别指出，美国也曾各种盗窃知识产权。
自己的“黑历史”可不能转眼就忘啊
In assessing the significance of property theft numbers in China， we should take an historical perspective。
在评估中国的知识产权问题时，我们应该从历史的角度出发。
Some readers may be surprised to learn that Americans in the 19th century cheerfully copied European and British intellectual property。
一些可能会惊讶地发现，19世纪，美国人在兴致勃勃地抄袭欧洲和英国的知识产权。
But as the country developed economically， socially， and technologically， piracy vis-à-vis other nations diminished。 Since then， Japan， South Korea and others have traveled the same road， with IP theft declining as they developed。
It’s highly likely that the pattern will be repeated in China。 As per capita income rises， more and more people will be able to afford to pay reasonable prices for books， music， movies， and so forth。 And as Chinese companies begin to develop new technologies， they themselves will need IP protections in order to maintain their profits and growth。
The next exhibit supports that argument。 Growth in U.S。 patents granted to Chinese inventors and teams of Chinese and American inventors are both rising。
下面的图表也支持了这一观点：授予中国发明者和中美发明团队的美国专利数量正双双增长。
▲Is China Actually Stealing American Jobs and Wealth？
（“The data of the last 25 years portray U.S。-China commerce as the most synergistic bi-lateral relationship in world history， bringing peace along with mutual prospe。” - HBR）
（数据via世界银行；图viaHBR）
