EMILY FENG, HOST:
Iran delivered a response today to the latest U.S. proposal to end the war, according to Iranian state media, but it hasn't agreed to nuclear negotiations. Hours later, President Trump posted on social media that the response was, quote, "totally unacceptable." Tensions are high, and the Strait of Hormuz remains blocked. It's against this backdrop the president is headed for talks with a major global competitor, China. A high-stakes summit in Beijing was postponed back in March because of the war in the Middle East.
To understand the stakes this week, we called Ambassador Nicholas Burns. He served as the U.S. ambassador to China under President Biden, and he's now a professor at Harvard University's Kennedy School of Government. I started by asking him to explain how the war with Iran has altered the dynamic between Washington and Beijing.
NICHOLAS BURNS: First of all, it's been a problem for China because the Chinese had established what they called a strategic relationship with Iran, as well as with Venezuela. And here we've had, since early January, two U.S. invasions, one of Venezuela, one of Iran, where the Chinese look a little bit feckless. They weren't able to in any way, shape or form, alter the outcome. On the other hand, I think it also in a way helps the Chinese because Xi Jinping has been presenting himself to the world through the Venezuelan and Iran conflicts and perhaps in a very hypocritical way as a defender of justice and order. And so I do think this really hits the Chinese from different perspectives.
FENG: OK. Outside of the Iran issue, what do you think the top line issues are that President Trump and Xi Jinping should be addressing at this meeting in Beijing?
BURNS: Well, first, I think it's good that President Trump is going to China. I know that they'd like to have some settling of the economic competition between the two countries last year. You remember the trade war and the supply chain war between the United States...
FENG: Oh, I do.
BURNS: (Laughter) I think they would like to have, in essence, a truce in the tariff war. So tariffs may not be diminished, but they wouldn't go up. So if they can accomplish that, that would be significant. And we - I would also look for a Chinese announcement and an American announcement that China is going to make a major purchase of American agricultural products. This is very important for our farm economy, our ranch economy and our seafood economy.
About one-fifth of all of American agricultural exports go to this one country, China, and the Chinese in the course of the last two years of the Biden administration and this first year of President Trump's second term have been diminishing their purchases, particularly of soybeans, which is a very important crop for Midwest farmers. And I think President Trump's been working very hard to get a big Chinese buy. That would be positive.
FENG: Do you think Taiwan will come up? This is the democratic island that China wants to control one day, and we both know Beijing for years has been pushing the U.S. to soften its position a bit on Taiwan. So Beijing has more diplomatic room, at least to maneuver over Taiwan. Are you concerned the U.S. might actually do that, soften its position?
BURNS: Well, I think it's 100% certainty that Taiwan will come up. The Chinese usually start every meeting with Americans on Taiwan. This is worrisome. I think the Chinese believe that it may be possible to convince President Trump to shift the American position on Taiwan. Traditionally, over the last half century, the United States has said that we have a one-China policy, that we do not support Taiwan independence. The Chinese would like us to say, we oppose Taiwan independence. And I hope very much that President Trump and his team will not agree to this.
We also, under the Taiwan Relations Act, U.S. law - we sell defensive military technology to Taiwan, and the Trump administration has an $11 billion package which they've put aside for the moment before this visit, and I hope President Trump will not agree to suspend that weapons sale, that he'll go back to it after the summit meeting is over because we want Taiwan to have a chance to defend itself, to have a strong deterrent. We certainly shouldn't be dictated to by the Chinese government on this issue.
FENG: So, Ambassador Burns, I'm, as you know, a longtime China reporter. I've lived in China for years. I cannot claim to have met President Xi of China, though, and talked to him face to face, but you have. And I'm curious whether you have any insight into his character and any potential rapport he might have with President Trump.
BURNS: He is very experienced. He's been president since 2012. He has now dealt with President Obama, President Trump and President Biden. He knows all of them well. He is a listener. He's, I think, highly intelligent. He will be steely eyed, not very perhaps outwardly friendly in most of these meetings, all business, and has so much experience on these issues that he can talk in great detail about them. So you're dealing with quite formidable and quite intelligent and quite experienced leader across the table. So of course, our president will need to bring our issues to the table and argue our case because we are competing with China.
FENG: Ambassador Nicholas Burns - he served as the U.S. ambassador to China under President Biden and is now a professor at Harvard University's Kennedy School of Government. Thank you, Ambassador.
BURNS: Thank you so much. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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