Lost in translation: how language complicates US-China relations

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  The Economist.

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  Good relationships depend on good communication.

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  But when neither party speaks the same language,

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  there's plenty of opportunity for things to get lost in translation.

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  Earlier this year, when Wang Yi and Marco Rubio, China and America's top diplomats, spoke on the phone,

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  Mr. Wang used an idiomatic phrase, hao zi wei zhi,

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  an ambiguous expression that can be translated as make the right choice.

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  To Chinese ears, though, This can sound a bit stronger.

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  Like a boss putting a junior in his place.

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  Language and how it's interpreted matters.

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  It has the power to defuse or to inflame.

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  And as the relationship between China and America enters a new, less predictable phase,

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  linguistic sleight of hand has the potential to become more consequential.

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  I am Jiehao Chen, the Economist's China researcher, and drum tower producer.

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  This week, I'm joined by Corbin Duncan, Our global correspondent and David Rennie, our geopolitics editor.

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  And we're asking, why is Chinese such a hard language to translate?

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  And what are the real world consequences when the message gets lost in translation?

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  This is Drum Tower, from The Economist.

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  Hey Corbin, welcome to Drum Tower!

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  Hey Jiehao, thanks for having me on.

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