Former U.S. Ambassador to China To Return to Kennedy School Professorship

Former U.S. Ambassador to China R. Nicholas Burns will return to the Harvard Kennedy School as a professor this April, joining the Fairbank Center for Chinese Studies, the University announced earlier this week.

Burns taught at the Kennedy School for 13 years before former President Joe Biden appointed him in 2021 to serve as ambassador. During his tenure, he created and helmed the Future of Diplomacy Project at the Belfer Center and led programs on the Middle East and South Asia.

“Students flocked to Nick’s classes for more than a dozen years,” HKS Dean Jeremy M. Weinstein wrote in Harvard’s announcement. “Soon they will be able to study again with one of the nation’s most distinguished career diplomats, who will bring with him fresh insights into one of the world’s most important diplomatic relationships.”

During his time as ambassador, Burns worked to re-establish and stabilize the U.S.-China relationship while also aiming to strengthen the U.S.’ position over its economic and military rival. To counterbalance China’s rise, Burns focused on bolstering U.S. alliances in Asia, such as with Japan and the Philippines, and improving multinational partnerships.

Rana Mitter, a professor of U.S.-Asia Relations at the Kennedy School, described Burns’ tenure as “one of the most difficult periods of U.S.-China relations” in a statement to The Crimson, and credited the ambassador for reducing tension between the two nations.

Despite his efforts to ease hostility, Burns’ attempts at diplomacy were complicated by Chinese military incursions in Taiwan, Beijing’s aid to Russia in their war on Ukraine, and cyberattacks against the U.S.

HKS international affairs professor Stephen M. Walt emphasized Burns’ diplomatic efforts in a statement to The Crimson.

“The state of Sino-American relations is of critical importance for both countries and the world,” he wrote. “As Ambassador in Beijing, Nick Burns has been directly involved in managing a complex set of diplomatic issues, and HKS faculty and students alike will benefit greatly from his experience.”

“Not only will he be able to provide them with insights about diplomacy at the highest levels but also with a sharp understanding of China’s perspectives on key policy questions and their negotiating style,” added HKS professor Anthony J. Saich, describing the U.S.-China ties as “the most important relationship for the foreseeable future.”

—Staff writer Elise A. Spenner can be reached at elise.spenner@thecrimson.com. Follow her on X at @EliseSpenner

—Staff writer Will P. Cottiss can be reached at will.cottiss@thecrimson.com. Follow him on X at @WillPCottiss