Nominee for US ambassador to China wins committee approval, heads to full Senate vote
- The nomination of Nicholas Burns, a career diplomat and foreign policy adviser to Democratic and Republican administrations, draws just one vote in opposition
- The US has gone without an envoy in Beijing for more than nine months
The US Senate Foreign Relations Committee voted overwhelmingly on Wednesday in favour of Nicholas Burns as the next US ambassador to China, sending the long-time diplomat’s nomination to the full Senate for his approval.
Only one senator on the 22-member committee, Bill Hagerty, opposed the nomination. Hagerty, Republican of Tennessee, had criticised Burns for disagreeing with his suggestion that the US ought to end its long-held policy of “strategic ambiguity” on the issue of military intervention in the Taiwan Strait.
Hagerty had no support from other committee members. Senator James Risch of Idaho, the top Republican on the committee, said there would be “no better ambassador as far as being able to represent the US interests”, citing Burns’ experience and past comments in support of Taiwan.
The Burns nomination was approved on Wednesday along with several other ambassadorial nominations, including that of former Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel for envoy to Japan. Two Democratic senators, Jeff Merkley of Oregon and Ed Markey of Massachusetts, objected to Emanuel’s nomination, citing his handling of the 2014 killing of a black teenager by a white Chicago police officer.
Other envoys approved on Wednesday were those for Singapore, Spain, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka.
