Burns approved as US ambassador to China
Urged to act dutifully rather than an agent lecturing on American values
Career diplomat Nicholas Burns finally won US Senate approval to become the new ambassador to China after the post was left vacant for nearly 14 months.
Chinese analysts said it is hard to expect the new ambassador to push for breakthroughs amid the bilateral tensions and warned Burns should act dutifully as an ambassador that is supposed to promote bilateral ties instead of trying to play an agent of US Secretary of State Antony Blinken to lecture China on human rights issues or promote US values.
The majority of US senators on Thursday backed the confirmation of President Joe Biden’s nomination of Nicholas Burns to be ambassador to China. It was not immediately clear when Burns would head for China, Reuters reported.
Similar to his predecessors, Burns will fulfill the role of executor of US policy toward China, but given his previous experience as a veteran diplomat and experience of dealing with crises, he may offer “political proposals” but with limited influence, Li Haidong, a professor from the China Foreign Affairs University, told the Global Times.
Lü Xiang, director for research of the Chinese Institute of Hong Kong, told the Global Times that Burns has a good resume and has worked in the same circles as Blinken and US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan for many years. Barring the unexpected, Burns will be a conventional envoy.
Given the current situation, Blinken has assumed an outsized influence on US security and diplomatic affairs. China may not expect too much from Burns on leading breakthroughs. “Burns will only be a loyal lieutenant for Blinken,” said Lü.
With low expectations of Burns, Chinese analysts also warned that Burns should act dutifully as an ambassador, and not an agent of Blinken in promoting human rights issues or ideology in China as the latter, together with other officials from the Biden administration, are racking their brains in using ideology, values and human rights as weapons to compete with China.
It is also rare to see a potential ambassador to China hostile toward China even before his nomination was approved.
During a US Senate hearing in October, Burns claimed that China is “the biggest geopolitical test of the 21st century.” He also launched a fierce attack against China’s domestic and foreign policies.
Hu Xijin, former editorin-chief of the Global Times, posted on Sina Weibo “Even after he comes to China, his soul will stay in Washington; Beijing will only see his body. His soul will direct his body to speak and act in Beijing and also show off. He will not become an envoy of China-US friendship.”
Li said that the longest vacancy of the US ambassador to China reflected the stubbornness of die-hard anti-China forces in the US – “all agendas that are against China have been pushed swiftly; while any agenda linked to cooperation with China is a slow and tedious process.”