According to CIA chief Burns, China’s President XI is following the course of the Russian invasion of Ukraine very closely. Because he keeps the option open to attack Taiwan himself.
According to CIA director Bill Burns, Beijing’s leaders are closely monitoring the Russian war effort in Ukraine. “I don’t think any foreign leader has paid more attention to this war and Russia’s poor military performance than Xi Jinping as he reflects on his own ambitions in Taiwan and elsewhere,” Burns said in an interview with PBS.
It has been interesting to see the Chinese leadership’s reaction to the war in Ukraine given the close partnership between China’s leader and Russian President Vladimir Putin over the past few years. “A few weeks before Putin launched his invasion of Ukraine, when they met at the Beijing Winter Olympics, they professed a boundless friendship,” Burns told the broadcaster.
“It turns out that this partnership does indeed have some limitations, at least as far as President Xi’s reluctance to provide Putin with the kind of military support he has asked for in the wake of the war in Ukraine.”
Burns warns against underestimating Xi’s aspirations to control Taiwan. “He has publicly stated that he prefers to achieve this by means other than the use of force,” the CIA chief said. “But we also know that he has instructed his military leadership to be ready to start a war by 2027.”
From a strategic point of view, Putin’s war so far has been a failure in many respects, says Burns. “The Russian military has performed poorly and suffered huge losses. The Russian economy has suffered long-term damage. Most of the progress made by Russia’s middle class over the past 30 years will be destroyed.” Nevertheless, the head of the intelligence service does not believe that Moscow is currently “serious” about genuine peace negotiations.
