JAKARTA - Director of the United States Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) William Burns said Chinese President Xi Jinping's ambitions towards Taiwan should not be underestimated, although he is most likely not affected by Russia's military performance in Ukraine.
Burns said the United States knew "as an intelligence issue" that the Xi Government had ordered its military to be ready to carry out an invasion of self-governing Taiwan by 2027.
"Now, that doesn't mean that he decided to carry out an invasion in 2027, or any other year, but it's a reminder of his seriousness in his focus and ambitions," Burns said at an event at Washington University.
"Our assessment at the CIA is that I will not underestimate President Xi's ambitions in connection with Taiwan," he said.
Burns further said the Chinese leader was most likely shocked and anxious, trying to take lessons from poor military performance and Russian weapons systems in fighting in Ukraine.
It is known that Russia and China signed an "infinity" partnership last February, shortly before Moscow forces invaded Ukraine. Their economic relations are growing rapidly, as Russia's relations with the West shrink due to war.
The invasion of Russia has sparked Western concern China is likely to take a similar step in Taiwan, a democratic island that Beijing says is its territory.
China has refrained from condemning Russia's operations against Ukraine, but is careful not to provide direct material support that could trigger Western sanctions like those imposed on Moscow.
"I think it was a mistake to underestimate the shared commitment to the partnership, but it's not a completely unlimited friendship," Burns explained.
On the same occasion, Burns called China the "biggest geopolitical challenge" currently faced by the United States.
"Competition with China is unique on its scale, and it's really, you know, revealed in almost every domain, not only military and ideological, but economics, technology, all from cyberspace, to space itself too. This is global competition in a way that can be more intense than competition with the Soviets," Burns explained.
There was no immediate comment from the Chinese embassy in Washington about Burns' statement. Separately, Burns said the next six months would be "important" to Ukraine, where Moscow has made additional profits in recent weeks.
He also said the Iranian government was increasingly restless with domestic affairs, citing the courage of what he described as "feud" of Iranian women.
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