tug-of-war

基本解释

Arguments over currencies, trade and climate policy will resemble a tug-of-war.
货币、贸易以及气候政策方面的争吵有如一场拔河比赛。
IN RECENT months the poor Palestinians have, not for the first time, found themselves used as the rope in the tug-of-war between the Middle East's “accommodationist” and “rejectionist” governments.
近几个月来，可怜的巴勒斯坦人发现，他们成了中东地区“妥协派”和“强硬派”（拒绝承认以色列）之间拔河比赛的拉绳。这也并非第一次如此了。
There is even a tug-of-war in cyberspace between supporters of Western ghosts in black cloaks, and fans of Chinese ones who stick out their long tongues.
在网上还有场“拔河比赛”呢，一边是披著黑色斗蓬的西方幽灵，一边是吐著舌头的中国鬼魂。

Climate change regulation is the latest issue to come front and center in this political tug-of-war.
FORBES: Kaleidoscope Climate Laws Cut Jobs, Not Emissions
With Mr Lafontaine gone, the tug-of-war at the centre of government should also be gone.
ECONOMIST: A message for Europe
This kind of tug-of-war has been going on for 60 years ever since the CIA was created.
NPR: A View from Inside the CIA

A tug-of-war is a sports event in which two teams test their strength by pulling against each other on opposite ends of a rope.
You can use tug-of-war to refer to a situation in which two people or groups both want the same thing and are fairly equally matched in their struggle to get it.