US ambassador gets back down to business in HK

Wallis Wangs

The United States ambassador to China, Nicholas Burns, recently visited Hong Kong for a two-day trip, signaling the resumption of regular meetings on internal policies and management, according to the US Consulate General in Hong Kong.

Accompanied by US Consul General Gregory May, Burns engaged in various activities during his visit.

On the first day of his visit, Burns visited the Foreign Correspondents' Club in Central for about an hour. However, he did not respond to questions from local reporters.

In the afternoon, he proceeded to the M+ museum located in the West Kowloon Cultural District. During his time there, Burns toured several exhibition halls alongside museum director Suhanya Raffel. He also explored the museum's souvenir shop and outdoor venues. Burns dedicated over an hour to his museum visit before departing.

The US Consulate General said "Consul General May hosted Burns for meetings in Hong Kong over the course of the two days."

It added: "These meetings signify the resumption of routine and longstanding internal policy and management coordination discussions."

Lau Siu-kai, a consultant to the Chinese Association of Hong Kong and Macau Studies, told The Standard that "it is challenging to speculate on the purpose of Burns' trip and whether it is connected to the ongoing legislation process of Article 23 of the Basic Law."

Lau suggested that since Burns has not publicly commented on the Article 23 legislation, "it can be assumed that his visit is related to routine duties."

In a recent interview with US media, Burns expressed his view that China is the "most significant competitor" of the United States.

"I think ultimately, China wants to become and overtake the United States as the dominant country globally and we don't want that to happen. We don't want to live in a world where China is the dominant country."

China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs responded to Burns's remarks, with spokeswoman Mao Ningsaying earlier this month that his remarks "lack factual basis and constructive content."

She added: "We oppose defining the China-US relations with competition. China does not engage in major-country competition and has no intention to replace or challenge any country. We have advanced China-US relations under the principles of mutual respect, peaceful coexistence and win-win cooperation proposed by President Xi Jinping.

"China will not dominate the world and we do not think the world should be dominated by any country. What we do is aimed at self-improvement so as to deliver a better life for our people."