中国成为北极理事会观察员国

The Arctic Council granted observer status to six nations, including China, cementing its move from an obscure, mainly research-focused, body to a sought-after club whose members hope to shape growing prospects for resource development and trade.

北极理事会(Arctic Council)向中国等六个国家授予了观察员国身份，这巩固了该理事会从一个默默无闻、主要专注于科研的机构向一个受到追捧的国家集团转型的步伐，而这个国家集团的成员则希望为资源开发和贸易创造更多前景。

Underscoring the increased business interest in the region, the council's final declaration talked of 'the central role of business in the development of the Arctic.'

北极理事会最后宣布决定时提到了商业在北极的开发中扮演的核心角色，这凸显了该地区对商业的兴趣已经越来越浓厚。

The decision Wednesday came after late-night discussions that began Tuesday in Kiruna, northern Sweden, between eight ministers of the Arctic Council's member states, including Secretary of State John Kerry.

周三宣布上述决定之前，在瑞典北部的基律纳(Kiruna)，北极理事会成员国的八名部长级官员从周二开始讨论，直至深夜，其中包括美国国务卿克里(John Kerry)。

China's accession as observer -- along with India, Singapore, Italy, Japan and South Korea -- comes after Beijing aggressively lobbied the body's Nordic members who went on to champion its cause in the council.

中国与印度、新加坡、意大利、日本和韩国一道成为观察员国。此前，中国政府积极地对该组织的北欧成员国进行了游说，这些国家后来支持了中国的申请。

'This is exactly what we hoped for,' said Norwegian Foreign Minister Espen Barth Eide in a phone interview, adding that expansion makes the council 'a lot more relevant to the whole world.'

挪威外交大臣艾德(Espen Barth Eide)在接受电话采访时说，这正是我们所希望的。他补充说，理事会的扩大能够增加其在整个世界的影响力。

Among the permanent members -- the U.S., Russia, Canada, Norway, Finland, Iceland, Sweden and Denmark -- the Nordic countries represent a view that allowing in more participants could bolster the forum's clout on such issues as natural resources and climate change in the region. Canada, which now takes over the chairmanship of the council from Sweden, had expressed caution, arguing expanding the council could complicate its work and reduce the focus on indigenous populations.

北极理事会的成员包括美国、俄罗斯、加拿大、挪威、芬兰、冰岛、瑞典和丹麦。其中，北欧国家普遍的观点是，允许更多参与者可能会增加论坛在该地区自然资源和气候变化等问题上的影响力。刚刚从瑞典获得理事会主席国位置的加拿大表达了谨慎态度，加拿大认为，理事会的扩大可能会使工作复杂化，削弱对本土人口的关注。

U.S. officials had arrived in Sweden saying that they were comfortable with expansion. One Russian media report, however, said Moscow wasn't eager to expand the club. A Russian Foreign Ministry spokesman declined to comment earlier in the week.

美国官员已经抵达瑞典，他们说，对理事会扩大规模表示接受。不过，俄罗斯的一家媒体报道说，俄罗斯并不急于扩大这个俱乐部。俄罗斯外交部的一名发言人本周早些时候拒绝置评。

Mr. Barth Eide said one country expressed concern about the addition of new observers, but declined to disclose which one.

艾德说，有一个国家表达了对增加新观察员的担忧，但是拒绝透露是哪个国家。

Canada rejected the European Union's application for observer status due to a long-running dispute over seal hunting and a ban by Brussels's of seal products, such as hide.

加拿大拒绝支持欧盟对观察员身份的申请，原因涉及一个与海豹猎杀有关的长期争议，以及布鲁塞尔对海豹皮等海豹产品的禁令。

China, which has taken its thirst for resources to feed its economic expansion to the far corners of the globe, in April signed a free-trade deal with Iceland and has also invested in Greenland.

为了满足经济扩张引发的能源需求，中国已经来到了地球上最偏远的角落，中国4月份与冰岛签署了自由贸易协议，并在格陵兰岛也有投资。

Gao Feng, head of the Chinese delegation in Kiruna, told China's official Xinhua news agency that the council's decision to grant it observer status was a 'right and wise' move. 'China will first get to know the Arctic better, and then it is able to join effectively international cooperation,' Mr. Gao said, according to Xinhua.

在基律纳的中国代表团团长高风对中国官方媒体新华社说，理事会作出了一个正确而明智的决定，中国先要更好地了解北极，然后就能有效地参与国际合作。

Founded in 1996 as a body to coordinate Arctic policy, the council was for many years seen as a platform for scientists to swap research. More recently, it has gained prominence amid expectations that melting ice will clear the way for more resource development, including of vast offshore oil reserves, and free up more trade routes.

作为北极政策协调机构的北极理事会于1996年成立，多年以来，北极理事会被看做一个科学家们科研交流的平台。该机构最近获得了极大的关注，因为各国期待，冰层的融化将为更多资源的开发扫清障碍──包括大量海上石油储备，并提供更多贸易路线。

Observers to the Arctic Council mainly get to attend meetings and don't have a central role when it comes to decision making within the council.Still, according to Swedish Arctic Council Chairman Gustaf Lind, the applicants have many interests in joining the council as observers.

北极理事会的观察员基本上只能参加会议，在理事会的决策中不扮演核心角色。瑞典北极理事会主席林德(Gustaf Lind)说，尽管如此，对申请国来说，作为观察员加入理事会有很多利益考量。