Nicholas Burns, a career diplomat, is in the final stages of vetting to serve as President Biden’s ambassador to China, people familiar with the matter say to Axios.
Why it mattersAcross the government, there is a consensus that the US’s relationship with China will be the most critical – and consistent – of Biden’s presidency. From trade to Taiwan, the stakes are high. Burns could be one of the first crop of diplomatic nominees to be announced in the coming weeks.
- Biden set the table for those nominations on Thursday, drawing on the State Department’s Foreign Service when he named nine career diplomats for deployments from Somalia to Senegal.
- The Foreign Service traditionally supplies 70% of the approximately 190 nominees, and by appointing career deputies first, reducing internal complaints about political appointments.
- The remaining places, mostly in coveted Western European capitals and crucial Asian countries, are usually reserved for wealthy donors, former politicians or policy experts.
Between the lines: Burns is a professor at Harvard University and a former State Department spokesman who ended his career in the Foreign Service by serving as Secretary of State for Political Affairs to President George W. Bush.
- By sending him to Beijing, Biden would indicate a preference for a seasoned diplomat rather than a high-wattage politician.
- The last four US ambassadors to China all have retail experience and have won statewide elections, whether as governor or senator.
- Burn’s potential nomination was reported by Bloomberg in February. A final decision by the president has not been taken.
The intriguesBiden officials have also considered former U.S. Trade Representative Charlene Barshefsky for the post.
- Although not a politician, Barshefsky won Senate confirmation, served in President Clinton’s cabinet and negotiated with the Chinese to join the World Trade Organization.
Go deeperBiden officials have been urged to appoint a formerly elected official for Beijing, according to the theory that the Chinese would rather deal with a big name who can answer the phone, break the bureaucracy, and speak directly to the president.
- “He needs to appoint a ‘wow-wow’ person to show the world the importance of this relationship,” said former Senator Max Baucus, the Montana Democrat who served as Obama’s second Chinese ambassador.
- “It is also critical that the person is empowered to negotiate on behalf of the president,” he said. “The ambassadors shouldn’t just be a person to deliver messages.”
it comes down toWith the National Security Council and Biden’s State Department focused intensively on China, the next ambassador’s job could be more about implementing policy rather than creating it.
- In addition to working with Secretary of State Antony Blinken and National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan, Biden’s Chinese envoy will also have to consult with former Secretary of State John Kerry on climate change.
- The ambassador will also have to deal with Kurt Campbell, a brash former assistant secretary of state for affairs in East Asia and the Pacific who now holds a newly created “Asia Tsar” role in the National Security Council.