(Bloomberg) — The U.S. ambassador to China has arrived in Beijing, ending a period that saw Washington fail to send new diplomats to the world’s No. 2 economy amid strict Covid prevention measures.
Ambassador Nicholas Burns arrived on Friday and is quarantining for three weeks at his official residence in the Chinese capital, a U.S. Embassy spokesperson said in an emailed statement to Bloomberg News on Saturday.
Burns was accompanied by a group of U.S. personnel and their families whose travel plans had been delayed “due to the Covid-19 pandemic,” the spokesperson added. The ambassador will meet with his staff virtually while the group completes their quarantine.
The U.S. didn’t send new diplomats to its China missions last year amid the nation’s strict Covid controls, although it never announced a policy to that effect. State Department spokesman Ned Price said at the time that the U.S. had concerns about China’s “quarantine and testing policies that run counter to diplomatic privileges.” The last U.S. ambassador to China, Terry Branstad, left in 2020.
Burns’ arrival comes as China emerges as a key diplomatic player in efforts to prevent Russian President Vladimir Putin’s war from escalating into further bloodshed. The U.S. has condemned Russia’s actions while providing funding and arms to Ukraine. Beijing has so far refused to denounce Moscow though it recognizes Ukraine’s right to sovereignty.
A career diplomat who has served under Democratic and Republican presidents, Burns is viewed as a calm, savvy professional in Washington’s partisan politics. He has described China as being the aggressor in its relationship with Taiwan, Vietnam, Japan and the Philippines. Burns previously served as U.S. ambassador to NATO and Greece.
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