The Beijing Brief: Ambassador Nicholas Burns on Trump, Tariffs, and China's Playbook

Former U.S. Ambassador to China Nicholas Burns joins The Burn Bag to unpack the fragile U.S.–China tariff truce, the state of ongoing trade negotiations, and how Beijing is recalibrating its diplomacy in response to President Trump’s return. Drawing on his tenure as America’s top envoy in Beijing from 2022-25, Ambassador Burns explains why he believes Trump is right to pressure China on tariffs—while offering a sharp critique of India’s retaliatory 50% duties and the broader reciprocal tariff regime. Burns weighs in on the recent Shanghai Cooperation Organization Summit, including the strategic implications of the Modi–Xi–Putin meeting, and assesses how Xi Jinping’s centralized leadership style has hardened China’s power. He and A’ndre also discuss how Chinese officials view Trump’s return to power and the broader risks and opportunities for U.S. diplomacy in Asia. The former ambassador offers a candid, perspective rooted in his recent on-the-ground experience of China’s evolving strategy and the path forward for American policymakers.

You can listen to The Beijing Brief: Ambassador Nicholas Burns on Trump, Tariffs, and China's Playbook online on Radio and Podcast. Open the player on this page to stream the available audio.

The Beijing Brief: Ambassador Nicholas Burns on Trump, Tariffs, and China's Playbook is an episode from The Burn Bag Podcast by Burn Bag Media.

This episode is 56:59 long.

This episode was published on Sep 8, 2025.

Yes. Use the heart button on the episode page to add it to your favorite episodes list.

Yes. This page shows related episodes from The Burn Bag Podcast when more episodes are available from the podcast feed.