Nicholas Burns Profile Photo

Nicholas Burns

WSB Exclusive Speaker

U.S. Ambassador to China (2021-2025)

Ambassador Nicholas Burns, one of America’s most celebrated diplomats, has served six Presidents and nine Secretaries of State. As Ambassador to China, NATO, and Greece, he provides powerful, bipartisan insights on global politics, economics, and technology, equipping audiences to navigate future trends with clarity and foresight.

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Nicholas Burns Profile Photo

Nicholas Burns, one of America’s most accomplished diplomats and former U.S. Ambassador to China (2021-2025), brings unparalleled insight into the dynamics shaping the global landscape. With decades of experience navigating complex negotiations with world powers, Burns offers a non-partisan, authoritative perspective on the challenges and opportunities impacting businesses in an era of rapid geopolitical and technological transformation. Drawing from his leadership on U.S.-China relations, NATO expansion, and major security and trade initiatives, Burns equips corporate audiences with essential strategies to adapt and thrive amid the fierce global competition for military, economic, and technological dominance.

For organizations grappling with questions or looking for a better understanding about China’s evolving role in global trade, artificial intelligence, biotechnology, and Indo-Pacific security, or the broader implications of crises like the wars in Ukraine and the Middle East, Burns delivers forward-looking, actionable analysis. His presentations empower leaders to anticipate risks, seize opportunities, and navigate the unprecedented complexities of the 21st-century business environment. A seasoned storyteller and strategic thinker, Nicholas Burns offers audiences a unique lens into global power dynamics, ensuring they leave informed, inspired, and better prepared for the road ahead.

Featured Videos

Nicholas Burns Profile Photo
Nicholas Burns

Nicholas Burns on Navigating U.S.-China Relations

Nicholas Burns Profile Photo
Nicholas Burns

Nicholas Burns Analyzes the Future of U.S. – China Relations – Full Interview

Nicholas Burns Profile Photo
Nicholas Burns

Nicholas Burns: An American in China- A Quiet Invasion | 60 Minutes Full Episode

Nicholas Burns Profile Photo
Nicholas Burns

Nicholas Burns Full Exit Interview | WSJ News

Nicholas Burns Profile Photo
Nicholas Burns

Nicholas Burns on the West’s Response to China’s Aggressive Expansion

Nicholas Burns Profile Photo
Nicholas Burns

Nicholas Burns on Working With China On An International Scale

Nicholas Burns Profile Photo
Nicholas Burns

Nicholas Burns’ 2024 Harvard Address: Embracing JFK’s Lessons on Unity

Nicholas Burns’s Speech Topics

  • The U.S.-China Rivalry for Global Power

    China is and will remain the primary competitor of the United States for global military, economic, and technology power well into the next decade. Our most recent U.S. Ambassador to China (2021-2025), Nicholas Burns, offers a unique, non-partisan view of the stakes involved for Americans and people worldwide. Specifically, Burns focusses on the opportunities and challenges for business leaders in investing, manufacturing, and trading with China. He offers an authoritative analysis of the competition between the two countries in artificial intelligence, biotechnology, trade, military power in the Indo-Pacific and other areas. Burns provides a clear, compelling, and in-depth perspective, essential for understanding the power struggle ahead between these global titans. 

  • National Security Challenges for America and the World in 2025

    Ambassador Nicholas Burns provides a clear and authoritative perspective into the unprecedented global challenges ahead in 2025. One of America’s most senior and experienced diplomats, Burns draws on his deep knowledge of China (where he was U.S. Ambassador until early 2025) , India, Europe, the Middle East, and beyond to lay out future trends that will affect governments, businesses and individuals in 2025 and beyond. Specifically, he will delineate the crises that could affect global markets and stability—the Wars in Ukraine and Middle East, the dangerous and complicated U.S.-China rivalry, the battle for technology power in A.I. and biotechnology, developments in climate change and energy, and the consequential economic and trade disputes that will play out in the years ahead. He offers a non-partisan, deeply informed and essential presentation for all whose businesses and future will be affected by global trends in the years ahead.

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