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We have competing interests here, and balancing those interests is the reality in the U.S.-China relationship. We're going to compete. We have to compete responsibly and keep the peace between our countries. But we also have to engage.

— R. Nicholas Burns

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More quotes by R. Nicholas Burns

I think there’s a lot of concern around the world that China has now become an agent of instability in the Taiwan Strait and that’s not in anyone’s interest.

The people of China are not our enemy. We do want to live in peace with China. No person in their right mind should want this relationship to end up in conflict or in war.

A Conversation With Us Ambassador To China R. Nicholas Burns on US-China Relations (2023)

We certainly cannot trust the Chinese. Our responsibility is to make Taiwan a tough nut to crack.

We ought not to exaggerate their [ China ] strengths or underestimate the strengths of the United States. What we need is self confidence that the United States is a strong country.

Some people are saying, 'Well, we're so competitive with China, we should end the economic relationship'. Well, the consequence of that would be 750,000 American families wouldn't be able to put dinner on the table.

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Quote text and notes from Wikiquote: R. Nicholas Burns (page history), available under CC BY-SA 4.0. Source quality and labels are our own summary of what Wikiquote records.