【By Observer News, Ruan Jiaqi】

“We don't want to be the second strongest power lagging behind China. Therefore, we must maintain a leading advantage over China.” After stepping down, Nicholas Burns, former U.S. Ambassador to China, has become increasingly explicit in his remarks.

In an interview video released by Bloomberg on the 28th local time, when talking about his assessment of the current state of Sino-U.S. relations, Burns warned that the Sino-U.S. relationship is currently in a "highly competitive state," and this competitive pattern formed around military, technological, and trade differences is expected not to see "much change." He also emphasized that managing Sino-U.S. relations is "extremely difficult."

"Overall, I believe the current Sino-U.S. relationship is in a highly competitive state. This is a reality I experienced firsthand during my tenure as ambassador, and it's also a reality faced by President Trump and his team now," Burns said. "The main areas of competition between the two countries are artificial intelligence (AI), biotechnology, quantum computing, and cybersecurity."

Following this, he turned the blame back on China, claiming that China has been "extremely aggressive" in these areas, and declared that the U.S. "must authorize the private sector to win these competitions."

At this point, Burns' intentions were once again clear: he claimed that this situation means "every U.S. president and Congress must genuinely focus on competing with China and win in various fields"; meanwhile, in a world with nuclear weapons, the U.S. must also strive to maintain peace with China.

On the question of "how to correctly view the current Sino-U.S. relationship," this former U.S. ambassador clearly gave an "incorrect" answer.

The essence of Sino-U.S. relations is mutual benefit and win-win rather than zero-sum games. Elevating competition above cooperation and making false accusations against China at will does not conform to objective facts and is not conducive to global development and stability; essentially, it is a manifestation of hegemonistic thinking. Burns' rhetoric of constantly highlighting competition and avoiding cooperation obviously ignores the extensive common interests that the two countries have in many fields. Such a one-sided perception is destined to fail in finding the correct direction for bilateral relations.

Photo of former U.S. Ambassador to China Burns from Bloomberg video

Burns served as the 13th U.S. Ambassador to China from April 2022 to January 2025. After leaving office, he is now a professor at the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University.

According to the Bloomberg video, this conversation was centered around the recent Sino-U.S. economic and trade talks held in Malaysia.

According to Xinhua News Agency, on October 25-26 local time, Chinese side's chief negotiator, Vice Premier He Lifeng, and U.S. side's chief negotiators, U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen and U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai, held Sino-U.S. economic and trade consultations in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The two sides had in-depth, candid, and constructive exchanges on important issues of mutual concern, such as the U.S. 301 measures on maritime logistics and shipbuilding industries, extending the suspension period of reciprocal tariffs, fentanyl tariffs and law enforcement cooperation, agricultural product trade, and export controls, based on the important consensus reached in the calls between the two heads of state this year. Both sides reached a basic consensus on arrangements to address their respective concerns, and agreed to further determine specific details and complete their respective domestic approval procedures.

Li Chenggang, representative of the Ministry of Commerce of China for international trade negotiations and vice minister, stated on October 26, "The U.S. position is firm, while the Chinese side is determined to protect its interests."

When talking about the current Sino-U.S. economic and trade relations, Burns also mentioned that the fentanyl issue and the agricultural product export issue were the top priorities that the Trump administration hoped to achieve progress on from China.

This year, the two sides have reached several 90-day tariff truce agreements, with the next deadline approaching on November 10. However, Burns portrayed this progress as an "uneasy truce", claiming that the U.S. and China have not yet reached a formal document "drafted by lawyers, containing implementation mechanisms, and thousands of pages long."

Burns believes that the tension in Sino-U.S. trade will not end with this meeting, but then shifted the blame to China, stating that China has been "extremely strong" on related issues.

Regarding the U.S. position, a double standard was evident: just after answering the previous question, Burns claimed that "Trump's tough stance toward China was correct."

Not only that, he even "taught Trump how to do things," refusing to relax export control measures on China in areas such as semiconductors.

As for the reason, it was the same old nonsense. Burns repeatedly repeated the absurd argument: three years ago, President Biden banned the sale of advanced semiconductors used for AI functions to China, which was a good decision... China is trying to compete with the U.S. military for power and influence in the Indo-Pacific region.

Regarding the U.S. release of "a meeting between the leaders of China and the United States," Burns said that he believed the meeting would be "very positive." Given that the Sino-U.S. relationship is "very difficult to manage," he added that he hopes Trump can achieve success in the meeting a few days later.

On October 27, Wang Yi, member of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee and Foreign Minister, called Secretary of State Antony Blinken.

Wang Yi stated that the Sino-U.S. relationship affects the direction of the world, and a healthy, stable, and sustainable bilateral relationship conforms to the long-term interests of both countries, which is also the common expectation of the international community. He hoped that both sides would move in the same direction, prepare for high-level interactions between the two countries, and create conditions for the development of bilateral relations.

Blinken stated that the Sino-U.S. relationship is the most important bilateral relationship in the world, and he looks forward to sending positive signals to the world through high-level interactions.

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Original: https://www.toutiao.com/article/7566156624139469354/

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