The US Senate has confirmed the appointment of Nicholas Burns as US ambassador to China, AFP reports, recalling that Washington has not had a head of its diplomatic mission in Beijing for more than a year.
US President Joe Biden appointed Burns in August, but it was only this week that a majority was convened in the Senate to confirm the experienced diplomat after Republican Marco Rubio withdrew from opposition to the key appointment.
Former ambassador to Greece and NATO, number three in the State Department during the term of George W. Bush, Nicholas Burns - during his Senate hearing in October, described China as an "aggressor" in the region and promised a "heated confrontation" with Beijing, however, adding that he hopes to be able to co-operate with the Celestial Empire on issues such as climate change.
His appointment was blocked in August by Marco Rubio, who accused him of not being tough enough with the Chinese. The senator finally let the vote take place - still against confirmation - after the Senate unanimously passed a law Thursday banning the import of a wide range of products made in the Xinjiang Uyghur region. Democrats, as well as some Republicans, say that after more than a year without an ambassador, the United States needs a high representative in Beijing to put the new law into practice.
A career diplomat, Nicholas Burns was an adviser to Secretary of State John Kerry between 2014 and 2017, teaches at Harvard and strongly criticizes Donald Trump's foreign policy. His predecessor in Beijing, Terry Branstad, resigned in September 2020, at the height of the US presidential campaign.
No comments:
Post a Comment