Career Diplomat Nicholas Burns Sworn In As New US Envoy To China - State Dept.

WASHINGTON (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 26th January, 2022) Career diplomat Nicholas Burns has been sworn in to be the next US Ambassador to China, Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman said on Tuesday.

"Today I was honored to swear in Nicholas Burns, our newly confirmed Ambassador to the People's Republic of China," Sherman said via Twitter. "Ambassador Burns will be a strong voice protecting and advancing US interests in our relationship with the PRC, and I look forward to working with him again."

Burns' nomination was confirmed by the US Senate in December with a 75-18 vote.

In October, Burns said during a confirmation hearing that China represents the greatest security threat to the United States and the democratic world and unlike Washington, Beijing has no real allies.

Burns said that the United States and China should work on improving their communications in order to avert the possibility of a conflict and maintain regional peace. Burns promised to communicate directly with Chinese officials and to facilitate meetings with US counterparts, including President Joe Biden as well as lawmakers.

However, Burns called on Congress and the Biden administration to scale up security cooperation and arms provisions to Taiwan to defend itself from China.

Moreover, Burns said China's ongoing nuclear weapons buildup, its development of hypersonic missile technology, and economic dominance should be matters of concern for Russia.