WASHINGTON, Oct 20 (Reuters) – President Joe Biden’s nominee to be U.S. ambassador to China, Nicholas Burns, took a tough line on dealings with China at his Senate confirmation hearing on Wednesday, saying “genocide in Xinjiang,” abuses in Tibet, and bullying of Taiwan must stop.

Burns, calling China the United States’ “most dangerous competitor”, said Beijing is “blasting past” its pledge to maintain only a minimum nuclear deterrent, and added that Washington should work with allies in Europe and elsewhere to build economic leverage.

Human rights advocates and the U.S. government have termed China’s treatment of Uyghur Muslims in its Xinjiang region “genocide,” a characterization that China rejects.

“The PRC’s genocide in Xinjiang, its abuses in Tibet, its smothering of Hong Kong’s autonomy and freedoms, and its bullying of Taiwan are unjust and must stop,” Burns said, using the acronym for the People’s Republic of China.

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