中国打破了自己的世界海洋最深潜水纪录，在马里亚纳海沟下潜约10,909米(35,790英尺)，这艘名为“奋斗者”(fendouzhe)的潜水器于周二上午在地球上最深的海沟底部的海床上着陆。

此次下潜比中国前一次下潜马里亚纳海沟多出800多米(2624英尺)，差点就打破了马里亚纳海沟最深潜水的世界纪录。目前的世界纪录被认为是由美国海底探险家维克多·维斯科沃(Victor Vescovo)创造的，他声称在2019年5月达到了10927米(35853英尺)的深度。

在《人民日报》海外版微信官方账号上发布的一篇评论文章中，”深海勘探对于更好地理解“国际战略格局”至关重要。例如，日本最近在太平洋发现了稀土资源，那里的可采储量据说是陆地上的1000倍。海底是一个全新的世界。如果我们不去探索这个世界，别人就会去探索它。”

据中国官方报纸《中国日报》报道，随着北极地区出现经济机遇，中国企业一直在投资格陵兰的稀土公司。

国际海底管理局应该在2020年年中就采矿规则达成一致，中国只是众多准备勘探和开采海底的国家之一，但截至去年10月，各方尚未达成最终协议。

China breaks national record for Mariana Trench^[1] manned-dive amid race for deep sea resources

By Ben Westcott, CNN
November 11, 2020

注释

[1] Mariana Trench

注释:马里亚纳海沟

[2] sinking an estimated 10,909 meters (35,790 feet) into the Mariana Trench

注释:下沉约10,909米(35,790英尺)到马里亚纳海沟

[3] narrowly missed out on breaking a world record

注释:与世界纪录擦肩而过

[4] abundant with resources

注释:丰富的资源

备注:with abundant financial resources
    财大气粗
blessed with abundant forest resources
    拥有丰富的森林资源

[5] mouthpiece

注释:代言人

备注:美 [ˈmaʊθpiːs]
英 [ˈmaʊθpiːs]
n. 喉舌；代言人；送话口

[6] recoverable reserves

注释:可采储量

备注:[矿业][油气] 可采油储量

[7] retains its dominance

注释:保持其主导地位

[8] raised its quota for rare earth mining

注释:提高稀土开采配额

[9] a “game changing” find

注释:一个“改变游戏规则”的发现

[10] due

注释:预期

备注:美 [djuː]
英 [djuː]
adj. 到期的；预期的；应付的；应得的
n. 应付款；应得之物
adv. 正（置于方位词前）

[11] was due to agree on a mining code

注释:应该就采矿规则达成一致

[12] lining up to

注释:排队

备注:满足…的要求

[13] as of

注释:到…时候为止

备注:自……起；到…时候为止

Hong Kong (CNN)China has broken its own record for deepest manned dive into the world’s oceans, sinking an estimated 10,909 meters (35,790 feet) into the Mariana Trench^[2], state-run news agency Xinhua said.

The submersible, named “fendouzhe,” or “striver,” landed on the sea bed at the bottom of the deepest oceanic trench on Earth on Tuesday morning, Xinhua said, after setting off from China’s Hainan province one month earlier.
The dive beat China’s previous dive into the Mariana Trench by over 800 meters (2,624 feet) but it narrowly missed out on breaking a world record^[3] for the deepest dive in the Mariana Trench.
The current world record is believed to have been set by American undersea explorer Victor Vescovo, who claimed to have reached a depth of 10,927 meters (35,853 feet) in May 2019.
But China’s goals for the dive aren’t just scientific investigation. Ye Cong, the chief designer of the submersible, told Chinese state-run media that the seabed was abundant with resources^[4].
High-tech diving equipment can help us better draw a “treasure map” of the deep sea, Ye said in an interview quoted by Xinhua.
In a commentary on the dive, posted to the official WeChat account of the overseas edition of the People’s Daily, the ruling Communist’s Party official mouthpiece^[5], the author said that deep-sea exploration was important to better understand the “international strategic landscape.”
“For example, Japan recently discovered rare earth resources in the Pacific Ocean, where the recoverable reserves^[6] are said to be 1,000 times more than on land. The ocean floor is a whole new world. If we don’t explore this world, others will explore it,” the commentary said.
Rare earths, which are essential for the production of high-tech products such as smartphones, missile systems and radar, are currently controlled in a major part by China.
Beijing is working hard to ensure it retains its dominance^[7] in this area. In July, the Chinese government raised its quota for rare earth mining^[8] to a record high, as high as 140,000 tonnes (140 million kilograms).
According to the state-owned China Daily newspaper, Chinese businesses have been investing in rare earth companies in Greenland as economic opportunities emerge in the Arctic region.
But it is facing heavy competition from countries around the world.
In 2018, Japanese researchers made what was described as a “game changing” find^[9] on its small island of Minamitori in the Pacific Ocean, where millions of tons of extremely valuable rare earths were discovered in nearby deep sea mud.
That same year, Reuters reported that India was prepared to spend more than $1 billion over a decade to search huge areas of sea floor for any sign of rare earths or minerals which could potentially be extracted.
The International Seabed Authority was due^[10] to agree on a mining code^[11] in mid-2020, with China just one of many nations lining up to^[12] explore and mine the seafloor, but as of^[13] October there was no final agreement.

注友新闻

注释

[1] Mariana Trench

注释:马里亚纳海沟

[2] sinking an estimated 10,909 meters (35,790 feet) into the Mariana Trench

注释:下沉约10,909米(35,790英尺)到马里亚纳海沟

[3] narrowly missed out on breaking a world record

注释:与世界纪录擦肩而过

[4] abundant with resources

注释:丰富的资源

备注:with abundant financial resources
    财大气粗
blessed with abundant forest resources
    拥有丰富的森林资源

[5] mouthpiece

注释:代言人

备注:美 [ˈmaʊθpiːs]
英 [ˈmaʊθpiːs]
n. 喉舌；代言人；送话口

[6] recoverable reserves

注释:可采储量

备注:[矿业][油气] 可采油储量

[7] retains its dominance

注释:保持其主导地位

[8] raised its quota for rare earth mining

注释:提高稀土开采配额

[9] a “game changing” find

注释:一个“改变游戏规则”的发现

[10] due

注释:预期

备注:美 [djuː]
英 [djuː]
adj. 到期的；预期的；应付的；应得的
n. 应付款；应得之物
adv. 正（置于方位词前）

[11] was due to agree on a mining code

注释:应该就采矿规则达成一致

[12] lining up to

注释:排队

备注:满足…的要求

[13] as of

注释:到…时候为止

备注:自……起；到…时候为止