Nicholas Burns confirmed as new US envoy to China

WASHINGTON • The US Senate has confirmed veteran diplomat Nicholas Burns as ambassador to Beijing, filling a position vacant for more than a year despite Washington's growing focus on China.

The Senate reached the key 50-vote threshold to approve Mr Burns in a confirmation hearing on Thursday after Senator Marco Rubio raised objections.

Mr Burns, a former US ambassador to Greece and Nato, said at his Senate hearing in October that China was an "aggressor" in the region and vowed to "compete vigorously", while also seeking cooperation on areas such as climate change.

US President Joe Biden nominated Mr Burns in August, more than half a year into his term.

Mr Rubio held up the nomination as he accused Mr Burns of not being tough enough and not being clear on past dealings with China.

Mr Rubio allowed the vote, while also voting against Mr Burns, after prolonged negotiations brought bipartisan support and passage earlier on Thursday of an act to ban virtually all imports from China's north-eastern Xinjiang region due to concerns over forced labour of the Uighur minority.

Democrats argued that the United States needed an ambassador in Beijing to implement the law, and Mr Burns largely enjoyed support from a number of other Republicans after his long record in government.

"If you're looking for a bipartisan person to put in a position, this is your guy," said Mr Jim Risch, the top Republican on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

"He's done an outstanding job, has an outstanding reputation among the cadre of ambassadors."

The 65-year-old served as the State Department's No. 3 official under former president George W. Bush and was spokesman for the department under former president Bill Clinton.

Mr Burns retired from the US Foreign Service in 2008 and became a professor at Harvard University.

He was an outspoken critic of Mr Donald Trump, accusing the former president of abandoning a longstanding US consensus of standing up for US allies, encouraging democracy and welcoming legal immigration.

Mr Trump's ambassador to China, Mr Terry Branstad, resigned in October last year to help in the former president's campaign against Mr Biden.

A long-time governor of Iowa, Mr Branstad was described as an "old friend" by Chinese President Xi Jinping, who had visited the agricultural state when he was a lower-ranking official.

Despite Mr Burns' confirmation, Mr Bob Menendez, chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, voiced alarm that the Senate had not acted on more than 50 diplomatic nominees due to Republican stalling.

AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE