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US ambassador to China says democracy ‘under assault’ by authoritarian countries

  • Threat is present in the US and elsewhere, coming from those ‘trying to change the world order’, senior envoy Nicholas Burns tells Harvard graduates
  • Diplomat also highlights climate change, AI risks and armed conflict as among the challenges they would confront in the coming decade

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Nicholas Burns was nominated to serve as the US ambassador to China in Beijing in 2021. Photo: AP
Bochen Hanin Washington

In a stark warning to Harvard graduates on Wednesday, US ambassador to China Nicholas Burns described democracy as “under assault” by authoritarian countries, while emphasising a need for society to embrace the art of respectful disagreement.

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“Democracy is under assault in the United States and other countries: challenged from within in many cases by anti-democratic forces and challenged from without by authoritarian countries trying to change the world order,” he said, without naming specific countries.

Burns delivered the graduation address to 659 graduates of Harvard University’s John F. Kennedy School of Government, where he taught for 13 years before being appointed his current role in 2021.

The attack on democracy was among several challenges graduates would confront in the coming decade, he said. Burns also highlighted climate change and the risks of artificial intelligence as well as stopping armed conflict and other transnational problems.
Burns addresses graduates at Harvard University’s John F. Kennedy School of Government in Cambridge, Massachusetts, on Wednesday.
Burns addresses graduates at Harvard University’s John F. Kennedy School of Government in Cambridge, Massachusetts, on Wednesday.

In addition, Burns in his 37-minute address urged graduates representing 87 countries to learn “how to disagree”.

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