As the sun sets, a 300-metre Chinese ship chugs into Port Hedland, Western Australia, to re-ceive a load of iron ore.

　　日落时分，一艘300米长的中国轮船缓缓驶入西澳大利亚的黑德兰港，来装载一船铁矿石。

　　It is one of about 20 vessels waiting to dock in the congested port before heading back to China in a constant, year-round cycle. Iron ore for steel is set to overtake coal as resource-rich Australia’s top export. It is also at the heart of its commercial relationship with China and has driven a surge in Australia’s terms of trade – the ratio of export to import prices.

　　在这里，总有大约20艘船只等候着停靠进拥挤的港口、（装货）之后再返回中国，经年累月周而复始。炼钢用的铁矿石将取代煤炭，成为资源丰富的澳大利亚的最大出口商品。这也是澳中两国商业关系的核心所在，并已经推动澳大利亚的贸易价格比率（即出口价格相对于进口价格的比率）大幅飙升。

　　As Julia Gillard, the prime minister, visits Beijing this week, trade links with China, which two years ago became Australia’s biggest export market, have never been more important.

　　两年前，中国成为澳大利亚最大的出口市场。在澳大利亚总理朱莉娅?吉拉德(Julia Gillard)本周访华之际，澳中两国贸易关系的重要性达到了前所未有的高度。

　　Nobody expects Ms Gillard – who is meeting Wen Jiabao, her Chinese counterpart, today, and Hu Jintao, president, on Wednesday – to take the same stance as her predecessor Kevin Rudd, the fluent Mandarin speaker who damaged diplomatic ties during a 2008 visit with his strident criticism of China’s record on human rights.

　　人们普遍认为，吉拉德的姿态会不同于其前任陆克文(Kevin Rudd)。讲一口流利汉语的陆克文因为在2008年访华时猛烈抨击中国的人权纪录，破坏了两国之间的外交关系。吉拉德定于周二会见中国国务院总理温家宝，周三会见中国国家主席胡锦涛。

　　Tensions between Canberra and Beijing have not held back strengthening links. The number of Chinese tourists visiting Australia hit a monthly record of almost 48,000 in January, up more than half on a year earlier, while immigration from the Chinese mainland rose 15 per cent to almost 15,000 in the year to June 2009, Australian figures show.

　　澳中关系紧张并未阻碍两国之间联系的增强。澳大利亚的数据显示，今年1月，赴澳大利亚的中国游客数量创下了近4.8万的月度纪录，较上年同期增长逾50%；而截至2009年6月的一年内，中国内地移民澳大利亚的人数增长15%，至近1.5万人。

　　But it is in the resources and energy sectors, particularly in Western Australia’s Pilbara region, where China’s presence has become most stark.

　　但中国影响力表现得最为明显的是资源和能源领域，特别是在西澳大利亚的皮尔巴拉地区。

　　Lindsay Copeman, acting head of the Port Hedland port authority, says that 10 years ago Chinese shipping was an operational hazard.

　　黑德兰港务管理局代理局长林赛·科普曼(Lindsay Copeman)表示，10年前，中国船运在经营上是一种冒险。

　　"They used small ships, old ships that were poorly crewed,They were basically rust buckets," he said. "Today, they are sending big, modern ships.”

　　“他们过去用的都是小船、旧船，船上人手也差 …… 用的桶几乎都是生锈的，”他说。“现在，他们派来的都是大型现代化轮船。”

　　China now accounts for almost two-thirds of the port’s export tonnage. The trade is driving huge development at Port Hedland, Pilbara’s largest town with a population of about 22,000.

　　目前，黑德兰港出口吨位的近三分之二都去往中国。在对华贸易推动下，这个人口2.2万、皮尔巴拉地区最大的城镇发展很快。

　　Port Hedland shipped 174m tonnes of iron ore in the 12 months to the end of June last year. Port officials estimate that by mid-2016, the figure could reach 500m tonnes annually.

　　截至去年6月底的12个月里，黑德兰港的铁矿石出货量为1.74亿吨。港口管理人员估计，到2016年中，这一数字可能会达到每年5亿吨。

　　"On average, we have 18 to 20 ships waiting to come into harbour" said Mr Copeman. “In 2016, we estimate we will have 80 to 100 ships anchored off the coast.”

　　“平均而言，现在等待驶入港口的船只为18至20艘，”科普曼表示，“2016年，我们估计将有80至100艘船只在此停泊。”

　　Michael Wesley, of the Lowy Institute, a Sydney think-tank, says China’s influence on the nation is best expressed by comparing Australia with New Zealand. “The two countries had similar levels of per capita wealth in the 1970s and it has diverged markedly since that time,” he said. “China’s impact on Australian wealth in recent years has been enormous , We are looking at a boom like we have never seen before in our history.”

　　悉尼智库罗维国际政策学院(Lowy Institute for International Policy)执行主任迈克尔·韦斯利(Michael Wesley)表示，澳大利亚和新西兰之间的对比，能够最好地说明中国对澳大利亚的影响力。“上世纪70年代，澳新两国的人均财富水平相当，此后，出现了明显分化，”他表示，“最近几年，中国对澳大利亚财富的影响力一直非常巨大 …… 我们正经历一个历史上从未有过的繁荣时期。”

　　Such confidence has encouraged investment in Australia’s energy and resource states of Western Australia and Queensland, and an increase in the number of Australian projects backed by China.

　　在这种信心的激励下，在西澳大利亚州和昆士兰州等能源和资源丰富地区的投资，以及由中国支持的澳大利亚项目的数量都在增多。

　　After Canberra rebuffed a number of planned take-overs of Australian re-source companies, China focused on taking stakes in mining and energy projects, buying minority holdings in market-listed groups such as Rio Tinto, and project financing.

　　在澳大利亚政府否决了多起中国企业对澳大利亚资源公司发起的收购之后，中国把重点放在了参股矿产和能源项目（如购入力拓(Rio Tinto)等上市公司的少数股权），以及项目融资方面。

　　The big risk for Australia is if China’s growth rate falls sharply, hitting de-mand for commodities, and therefore prices. Australia is also vulnerable to large competing resource projects coming on stream in Latin America, Asia and Africa.

　　澳大利亚面临的一个巨大风险在于：中国的增长速度是否会大幅放缓，这将影响大宗商品的需求以及价格。此外，澳大利亚也容易受到在拉美、亚洲和非洲即将投产的大型竞争性资源项目的影响。

　　For now, such risks seem some way off. In the meantime, Australia is rushing to sell more commodities while prices remain high.

　　眼下这种风险似乎尚未出现。澳大利亚正忙着在价格高企之际出售更多大宗商品。

　　Barry Haase, an MP for Durack, which includes Port Hedland, says China has given his constituency vital oxygen.

　　杜拉克地区（包括黑德兰港）议员巴里·哈斯(Barry Haase)表示，中国给他所在的选区带来了生机。

　　"Without China, we would be selling less and therefore developing less iron ore and liquefied natural gas," he said.

　　他说：“如果没有中国，我们能卖的铁矿石及液化天然气会减少，开采量也将减少。”