China-US ties: ‘not much room to move’ for next American ambassador
- The White House plans to nominate career diplomat Nicholas Burns as its next man in Beijing
- It’s a positive sign but he will be limited in what he can do, observers say
Now a professor at the Harvard Kennedy School, Burns worked at the State Department for more than three decades, serving as the US ambassador to Nato from 2001 to 2005 under president George W. Bush and as a member of a foreign policy advisory board for three years during president Barack Obama’s administration.
Shi Yinhong, an adviser to the State Council and a professor of international relations at Renmin University, said Burns was a widely respected career diplomat but both he and Chinese ambassador Qin Gang would be “overwhelmingly” restricted by the worsening ties between the two countries.
“The international environment has changed so much and I don’t see there is much room for the two ambassadors to work to ease the tensions between the two countries,” Shi said.
Tensions are rising between China and the US on various fronts, from trade to human rights.
