US President Joe Biden on Friday nominated R. Nicholas Burns, a veteran Foreign Service officer and former ambassador to NATO, as the new US ambassador to China, reports the New York Times.
Biden settled on the nomination months ago, people involved in the process said. But the official announcement was delayed in part because the United States needs the host countries to sign off on such selections before proceeding.
Burns is poised to fill a diplomatic vacuum as an increasingly ideological conflict between China and the United States has led to worsening relations.