Tag: Burns, R Nicholas

Blinken Visit Reveals Chasm in How U.S. and China Perceive Rivalry

Media Library

An austere greeting on the airport tarmac in Beijing sans a red carpet. A stone-faced handshake from China’s top foreign policy official. A seat looking up at the Chinese leader, Xi Jinping, perched at the head of a long table. To international audiences, the optics of Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken’s two-day visit to Beijing barely raised any eyebrows. Foreign ministers are rarely, if ever, met with much fanfare at the airport. And an audience with a head of state alone is a sign of great importance and respect.…

Burns Calls for a Mix of Competition and Cooperation with China

Chin@Strategy

R. Nicholas Burns, President Biden’s nominee to be U.S. ambassador to China, told a Senate panel on Wednesday that if he was confirmed he would help Mr. Biden pursue a strategy of competition and cooperation with a rising Beijing, which he called “the biggest geopolitical test of the 21st century.” A lifelong diplomat who has held senior foreign policy posts in Democratic and Republican administrations, Mr. Burns was appearing before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, which is considering his nomination. He was searing about China’s recent international role, saying that…

Biden Taps Burns and Emanuel as Ambassadors to China and Japan

Chin@Strategy

WASHINGTON — President Biden on Friday nominated R. Nicholas Burns, a veteran Foreign Service officer and a former ambassador to NATO, as ambassador to China and Rahm Emanuel, the former mayor of Chicago and former President Barack Obama’s first chief of staff, as ambassador to Japan. Mr. Biden settled on both nominees months ago, people involved in the process said. But the official announcement was delayed in part because the United States needs the host countries to sign off on such selections before proceeding. The nominations were announced on Friday…