[(Title)] 'A Gesture to Our American Friends.' Germany's Plans for a Natural Gas Terminal Could Help the U.S. With Russia.

Germany will decide by the end of the year where to locate its first terminal for receiving liquefied natural gas (LNG),

德国将在今年年底决定其接收液化天然气的第一个码头的位置，

German economy and energy minister Peter Altmaier said Tuesday. That could be good news for the U.S. economy—and for U.S. political influence.

德国经济与能源部长彼得·阿尔特迈尔周二表示，这对美国经济以及美国的政治影响力来说可能是个好消息。

The United States is the world's largest producer of natural gas and, in the face of an on-going trade war with China, is eager to find more ports to sell LNG into.

美国是世界上最大的天然气生产国，面对与中国持续不断的贸易战，美国渴望找到更多的港口出售液化天然气。

It also wants to tilt Germany and the rest of Europe away from Russian influence, which Russia—the world's second biggest natural gas producer—sometimes exercises by cutting off its natural gas pipelines into the continent.

它还想让德国和欧洲其他国家远离俄罗斯的影响，俄罗斯(世界第二大天然气生产国)有时会切断通往欧洲大陆的天然气管道。

Of course, one LNG terminal is unlikely to solve all of these issues.

当然，一个液化天然气码头不太可能解决所有这些问题。

Germany is a key player in on-going negotiations between the U.S. and EU over tariffs on trade, and Altmaier said the LNG plan was  "a gesture to our American friends,"  Reuters reports.

据路透社报道，德国是美国和欧盟正在进行的贸易关税谈判中的关键角色，奥尔特迈尔称液化天然气计划是“对美国朋友的一种姿态”。

But most of Germany's natural gas imports come from Russia, and it is still building a pipeline, Nord Stream 2, to bring natural gas directly from Russia.

但是德国的大部分天然气进口来自俄罗斯，而且它仍在建造一条管道，NordStream2，直接从俄罗斯进口天然气。

"Europe is also becoming more, not less, dependent on Russian natural gas,"  Steven Winberg, assistant secretary of fossil energy, warned during a Senate hearing last week. Congress must approve most U.S. LNG exports.

温伯格上周在参议院听证会上警告说：“欧洲也越来越依赖俄罗斯的天然气，国会必须批准美国的大部分液化天然气出口。

Germany is unusual among major European countries for not yet having port facilities that can accept LNG, which requires special handling compared to natural gas, but can be converted back into gas from for overland transport via pipes.

德国在欧洲主要国家中很特别，因为它尚未拥有能够接受液化天然气的港口设施，与天然气相比，液化天然气需要经过特殊处理，但可通过管道从陆路运输中转换成天然气。

Dutch companies Gasunie and Vopak and German company Oiltanking formed a joint venture last year that has been laying the groundwork for a €450 million ($526 million) facility in Brunsbüttel that could meet about 10% of Germany's natural gas demand.

去年，荷兰Gasunie和Vopak以及德国Oiltanking公司成立了一家合资企业，为Brunsbüttel的一座4.5亿欧元（约合5.26亿美元）设施奠定了基础，该设施可满足德国约10%的天然气需求。

Altmaier noted that at least two other cities are competing to be the chosen site.

至少另外两个城市正在竞争被选中的地点。

Of course, the thing about a more liquid market is that you can end up business partners with your purported enemies: earlier this year, the U.S. flirted with buying Russian LNG.

当然，市场是充满流动性的，你可以与你的敌人变成商业伙伴：今年早些时候，美国曾考虑购买俄罗斯液化天然气。