Biden‘s nominee for CIA Director William Burns (R-AL) received a Senate confirmation hearing on Feb. 24.
William Burns, Biden’s nominee to head the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), received a hearing before the Senate Intelligence Committee on Wednesday, February 24. Some senators questioned the close ties between the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, of which Burns is president, and the Chinese Communist Party.
At Wednesday’s hearing, Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) said the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace has cooperated with the Chinese Communist Party on several occasions and has received donations from the China-U.S. Exchange Foundation (CUSEF), which was established by Tung Chee-hwa.
The Daily Caller recently reported that the foundation led by Burns has received about $2 million in donations from the Chinese Communist Party in recent years, including funds from CUSEF. CUSEF has long been named by the U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission (USCC), a standing body of the U.S. Congress, as a Chinese Communist Party united front organization.
During the hearing, Rubio also questioned the Carnegie Foundation’s cooperation with the Aspen Institute in organizing a trip to China for 11 congressional aides, during which they met with members of the CCP’s United Front Work Agency.
In addition, the foundation has partnered with Tsinghua University to establish the Tsinghua-Carnegie Center for Global Policy. Tsinghua University has long been identified by U.S. institutions as a serious threat to the West in areas such as military industry and cyber.
And the partnership between the Carnegie Foundation and the Globalization Think Tank (CCG) has also been questioned by senators.
Faced with the questioning, Burns explained that he had put an end to his relationship with the CCP after becoming president of Carnegie. He added, “As with your concerns, we are increasingly concerned about the expansion of the CCP’s influence.”
Burns said during a Senate sniff that he would make dealing with the Chinese (Communist) state one of his top priorities once he takes office as CIA director.
Xi’s China is a formidable authoritarian adversary of the United States, and this is manifesting itself in a growing number of areas,” Burns said. The Chinese (Communist) state is strengthening its ability to steal (U.S.) intellectual property, suppress its people, bully neighboring countries, expand its global power and build its influence in the United States.”
He also said that if the U.S. is to beat the CCP in competition, it will take a bipartisan, long-term strategy to get there. He sees competition with the Chinese (communist) state as key to U.S. national security, and that “an adversarial, predatory Communist Party leadership already constitutes the greatest geopolitical test for the United States.”
Burns, 64, is a career diplomat who has served in five administrations – Reagan, Bush Sr, Bush Jr, Clinton and Obama. He has served as U.S. ambassador to Russia, assistant secretary of state and undersecretary of state. During the Obama administration, he served as Deputy Secretary of State from 2011 to 2014. Since leaving office, he has served as president of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.
During his tenure as Deputy Secretary of State, Burns represented the U.S. on several trips to Beijing to consult with Beijing on issues including Iran, Afghanistan, and Russia. He was the U.S. lead for the U.S.-China Strategic Security Dialogue and also met with then-Chinese Communist Party Vice President Li Yuanchao in Beijing.
Once Burns’ nomination is approved, most of Biden’s national security team officials will be largely in place, including Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines.
Media analysis shows that the Biden Administration‘s China Policy team is made up of dissident members, and there are still questions about how they will work together and whether they can come up with a unified policy on China. At the same Time, there are also concerns about whether the Biden administration will continue the Trump administration’s hard-line policy toward the Chinese Communist Party.
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