CIA nominee vows to focus on Beijing
WASHINGTON: President Joe Biden’s nominee to be director of the CIA, William Burns, told a Senate committee on Wednesday that he saw competition with China — and countering its “adversarial, predatory” leadership — as the key to US national security.
Mr Burns, 64, a former career diplomat during both Democratic and Republican administrations, is expected to easily win confirmation to be director of the Central Intelligence Agency. Mr Burns has already been confirmed by the Senate five times for his stints as ambassador to Jordan and Russia and three senior State Department positions.
The Senate Intelligence Committee will likely vote on his confirmation late next week or the week after, to allow time for members to send more questions, a congressional official said.
Testifying to the committee, Mr Burns outlined his four top priorities — “people, partnerships, China and technology” — if he is confirmed.
He called China “a formidable, authoritarian adversary”, that is strengthening its ability to steal intellectual property, repress its people, expand its reach and build influence within the United States.
During questioning, Mr Burns said that if he were a US college or university president, he would recommend shutting down Confucius Institutes — Beijing-funded campus cultural centres that many members of Congress see as propaganda tools. Mr Burns was introduced at the hearing by bipartisan foreign policy heavyweights — former secretary of state James Baker and former CIA director and secretary of defence Leon Panetta. He would be the first career diplomat to lead the agency.
Senators from both parties praised Mr Burns during an unusually amicable two-hour hearing. Republican Richard Burr, a former committee chairman, said he looked forward to Mr Burns’ confirmation. Democrat Ron Wyden praised Mr Burns’ record on human rights and said he would support him. Competition with China is a top priority for the Biden administration — and for members of Congress, who want a tough line toward Beijing. Avril Haines, Mr Biden’s Director of National Intelligence, also called for an “aggressive stance” towards the threat from China at her hearing last month.