US ambassador Nicholas Burns says Beijing making US-China exchanges ‘impossible’. US Ambassador Nicholas Burns accused Beijing of hindering US-China ties by intimidating Chinese participants in embassy events and fueling anti-American sentiment. Burns reported that Chinese officials pressured citizens to avoid public events organized by the embassy and conducted late-night interrogations of attendees. He also expressed dissatisfaction with the transparency surrounding an incident involving an attack on American instructors in China. These actions, Burns stated, contradict Beijing's stated goal of reconnecting the populations of both nations.