CIA chief William Burns warns against underestimating Chinese President Xi's ambitions toward Taiwan

The Director of the Central Intelligence Agency, William Burns, stated on Thursday that despite Chinese President Xi Jinping perhaps being sobered by the performance of Russia’s military in Ukraine, his goals toward Taiwan should not be understated.

According to Burns, the US was aware “as a matter of intelligence” that Xi had instructed his troops to be prepared to invade Taiwan by 2027.

Burns said at a Georgetown University event in Washington, D.C., “Now, it does not imply he’s determined to execute an invasion in 2027, or any other year, but it’s a reminder of the seriousness of his focus and his desire.”

“Our assessment at CIA is that I wouldn’t underestimate President Xi’s ambitions with regard to Taiwan,” he said, adding that the Chinese leader was likely “surprised and unsettled” and trying to draw lessons from the “very poor performance” of the Russian military and its weapons systems in Ukraine.

A “no limits” partnership between Russia and China was signed in February of 2013 just before Russian forces invaded Ukraine. As Russia’s ties to the West have deteriorated, its economic ties have grown stronger.

The Russian invasion had increased worries in the West that China may invade Taiwan, a democratic island that Beijing claims are part of its sovereignty.

China has refrained from criticising Russia’s campaign against Ukraine, but it has also taken care to avoid offering the kind of direct material support that may lead to Western sanctions like those imposed on Moscow.

“I think it’s a mistake to underestimate the mutual commitment to that partnership, but it’s not a friendship totally without limits,” Burns said.

As Burns spoke, news came from US officials that a suspected Chinese spy balloon had been flying over the United States for a few days and that senior US officials had advised President Joe Biden against shooting it down for fear the debris could pose a safety threat.

Burn made no mention of the episode but called China the “biggest geopolitical challenge” currently faced by the United States.

“Competition with China is unique in its scale, and that it really, you know, unfolds over just about every domain, not just military, and ideological, but economic, technological, everything from cyberspace, to space itself as well. It’s a global competition in ways that could be even more intense than the competition with the Soviets was,” he said.

There was no immediate comment from China’s Washington embassy about the remarks from Burns or the balloon flight.

Burns said the next six months will be “critical” for Ukraine, where Moscow has been making incremental gains in recent weeks.

He also said Iran’s government was increasingly unsettled by affairs within the country, citing the courage of what he described as “fed up” Iranian women.

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