Over the last 22 years, that binary distinction has looked increasingly obsolete, as the larger developing countries, such as China and Brazil, have emerged as economic superpowers and major greenhouse-gas emitters. For this reason, the developed world has long wanted to replace the “firewall” between the two historic groupings with a form of differentiation that better reflects the contemporary world.
在过去22年中，这一两分法越来越不合时宜，因为中国和巴西等发展中大国已成为经济超级大国和主要温室气体排放国。因此，发达国家一直希望取消这两个历史分类类别之间的“防火墙”，替之以更好地反映当代世界的区分方式。但发展中国家——包括中国等主要强国——坚持认为自己仍处于发展中阵营。