Biden appoints new ambassadors to China and Japan

President Joe Biden announced that he has intended to elect the former U.S. ambassador to NATO Nicholas Burns as the U.S. ambassador to China. The president also announced a former mayor for Chicago county who has been elected as the ambassador to Japan. Burns happens to be one of U.S.’s most experienced diplomats, who had served both Democrats and Republicans for over 25 years. Burns was once an ambassador to Greece under the Clinton administration, and an ambassador to NATO under George W. Bush administration, and undersecretary for political affairs. As the Biden government is looking forward to make some geopolitical and economic competition with China as one of his prominent policies, Burns, as ambassador, could serve as the front-runner. Burns may become in-charge for dual task of executing policies that happen to be unpopular with Chinese hosts while maintaining a strong working relationship. The Biden government has showcased some signals that they are intending to persuade a relationship with Beijing that is anticipated to mirror Washington DC’s strategy for the Kremlin. While the United States and Russia have been at the forefront of every adversary, senior diplomats across the two countries are maintaining their areas of cooperation over issues where it is for the mutual interest.

The kind of cooperation model could also be duplicated for U.S.-China relationship, with cooperation being on major areas like climate change and North Korea. Unlike Burns, Emanuel hasn’t been a diplomat, nor does he have any experience with Japan. He has been a former chief of staff at White House under Obama administration and previously has been appointed as a congressman from Illinois. Emanuel has close ties with some of the biggest figures in the Biden government, including the current chief of staff White House. However, the personnel dopesn’ have a good reputation across the U.S., which may hamper their relations with Japan.