China rivalry will continue for years, U.S. ambassador Burns says in interview

BEIJING — The United States will judge China “on its actions, not just its words,” U.S. Ambassador to China Nicholas Burns told NBC News, as the two rival powers try to improve ties even as they remain locked in competition that Burns said would continue “into the next decade.”

Both countries have expressed the desire for a more stable relationship, especially after relations plunged to their lowest level in decades early last year when the U.S. military shot down an alleged Chinese spy balloon that had been spotted over the continental U.S. Last month, the U.S. and China’s top commanders in the Indo-Pacific resumed formal communications for the first time since 2022, which is vital for avoiding inadvertent military conflict.

“It’s very important that we have these channels of communication,” Burns said in an exclusive interview in Beijing on Wednesday. “But you know, we’re going to judge the People’s Republic of China on its actions, not just its words.”

The world’s two biggest economies are increasingly viewing each other through the lens of national security, including in strategically important sectors such as semiconductors, quantum computing, artificial intelligence and biotechnology.

“We’re structural rivals,” Burns said. “So I see this competition extending for years into the next decade.”

President Joe Biden has maintained and in some cases expanded tariffs imposed by former President Donald Trump that China views as intended to restrict its development in areas such as electric vehicles and solar panels. U.S. officials in turn accuse the Chinese government of “overcapacity” in these areas that results in overseas markets being flooded with lower-priced Chinese goods that undercut domestic competitors.

The two countries are also competing for influence in the Asia-Pacific, where China has been increasing its military activity in the South China Sea and around Taiwan, the Beijing-claimed island democracy whose most important international backer is Washington. Burns criticized live-fire drills and other military exercises that China, which has not ruled out the use of force in achieving unification, has held near Taiwan in recent days.

In addition to continuing to arm Taiwan, the Biden administration has made a point of strengthening relations with allies in the region including South Korea, Japan and the Philippines in an effort to counter China’s growing power.

Further afield, the U.S. has accused China of supplying Russia with dual-use technology for use in its war against Ukraine, sanctioning a number of Chinese companies.

“What’s troubling for us is the fact that China says that it’s neutral in the Russia-Ukraine war, and yet its actions are the opposite,” Burns said, “so that is a major problem in this relationship.”

China, which has strived to portray itself as neutral in the conflict, says it has never supplied weapons to Russia and that it strictly controls exports of dual-use goods. On Thursday, the Chinese Commerce Ministry reiterated its opposition to U.S. sanctions.

The “most profound difference” in U.S.-China relations, Burns said, “is that we believe in human freedom and human rights, and so we are a critic of what’s happening in Xinjiang, in Tibet, in Hong Kong, the lack of religious freedom.”

China, which denies rights abuses in its western region of Xinjiang, responded to criticism from the U.S. and others at the United Nations on Tuesday by saying the world’s primary concern right now should be the “living hell” in the Gaza Strip, where there are warnings of “catastrophic” levels of hunger as Israel continues its assault on the Palestinian enclave.

Though the relationship is primarily competitive, the Biden administration also seeks opportunities for cooperation with China, Burns said, in areas of vital global importance such as illicit drugs, artificial intelligence and climate change. China and the U.S. are the world’s two biggest greenhouse gas emitters.

“We want to be responsible for our own people, but also for the world as we conduct this relationship,” Burns said.

Biden administration officials and U.S. lawmakers have made a series of visits to China in recent months, and Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping had a face-to-face meeting in California last November and a phone call in April.

During their summit last year, the two leaders said there should be more people-to-people exchanges between their countries, including in academics, business and tourism.

But change has been slow.

Since the Biden-Xi summit 11 months ago, Burns said, Chinese security services have tried to impede 94 different U.S. Embassy events meant to bring Chinese and American people together, including by pressuring Chinese citizens not to attend and intimidating those who do.

“They can’t have it both ways,” Burns said. “You can’t say you want to promote people-to-people contacts and then try to actively impede them.”

China denied similar allegations by Burns in June, with a Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson calling them “factually inaccurate.”

The number of direct commercial flights between the two countries is still far below the number before the Covid-19 pandemic, and there are only about 800 Americans studying in China, down from a high of about 15,000 a decade ago.

By contrast, there are about 300,000 Chinese students in the U.S., though some have complained of being subjected to lengthy interrogations or even turned away by immigration officials despite having valid visas.

Optimism among U.S. businesses in China is also at a record low, according to a survey released last month by the American Chamber of Commerce in Shanghai, with companies citing geopolitical tensions as their top concern.

Burns, who has been in his role for two and a half years, declined to comment on the U.S. presidential election.

He said U.S. officials did not discuss it with the Chinese government except to warn against election interference, though he declined to comment on whether there was any evidence of Beijing doing so. China has said it has no intention of interfering in the U.S. election.

Burns said the Biden administration was “clear-eyed” about the threat China poses to the U.S., but that there are also times when the two countries’ interests overlap.

“It’s a complicated relationship. It’s a very challenging relationship,” Burns said. “But it’s without any question the most consequential relationship that we Americans have with any other country.”

Janis Mackey Frayer reported from Beijing, and Jennifer Jett reported from Hong Kong.