Nicholas Burns, a career diplomat, is determined to serve as President Biden’s ambassador to China, Axios said.
Why it matters: There is a consensus across the government that the US relationship with China will be the most important and consequent of Biden’s presidency. From trade to Taiwan, the interests are high. Burns may be the first group of diplomatic nominees to be announced in the coming weeks.
- Biden set the table for the nominations on Thursday, with the foreign service of the Foreign Ministry when he nominated nine career diplomats for placements from Somalia to Senegal.
- The foreign service traditionally produces 70% of the approximately 190 nominees, and the nomination of career indicators must first reduce internal complaints about political appointments.
- The remaining places, usually in prestigious Western European capitals and important Asian countries, are usually reserved for wealthy donors, former politicians or policy experts.
Between the lines: Burns is a professor at Harvard University and former State Department spokesman who limited his career in the foreign service by serving as President George W. Bush as Secretary of State for Political Affairs.
- By sending him to Beijing, Biden would indicate a preference for an experienced diplomat rather than a high-watt politician.
- The last four U.S. ambassadors to China all have experience in retail politics and have won elections across the country, whether as governor or senator.
- Burnberg’s potential nomination was reported by Bloomberg in February. A final decision by the president has not yet been made.
The plot: Biden officials also considered former U.S. Trade Representative Charlene Barshefsky for the post.
- Although he was not a politician, Barshefsky won Senate confirmation, served in President Clinton’s cabinet, and negotiated with the Chinese on their accession to the World Trade Organization.
Go deeper: Biden officials are asked to nominate a former elected official for Beijing, according to the theory, the Chinese prefer to deal with a big name who can pick up the phone, cut through 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 Democrat in Montana who served as Obama’s second ambassador to China.
- “It is also critical that the person has the power to negotiate on behalf of the president,” he said. “The ambassadors should not just be a person to deliver messages.”
The conclusion: With Biden’s National Security Council and the State Department intensely focused on China, the next ambassador’s job may be more about implementing policies instead of creating them.
- In addition to working with Secretary of State Antony Blinken and National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan, Biden’s envoy to China will also need to coordinate with former Secretary of State John Kerry on climate change.
- The ambassador will also have to contend with Kurt Campbell, a staunch former assistant secretary of state for affairs in East Asia and the Pacific, who now serves in a newly created “Asia Tsar” role in the National Security Council.