China's President Xi has ordered his military to be ready to invade Taiwan by 2027, warns CIA director

Chinese President Xi Jinping has ordered his military to be ready to invade Taiwan by 2027, the CIA director has warned. William Burns said on Thursday that Xi's ambitions towards Taiwan should not be underestimated, although he is likely to be sobered by the performance of the Russian military in Ukraine, which has suffered several embarrassing setbacks.

Burns said the United States knew "because of intelligence" that Xi had ordered his military to be ready to invade the island in four years. "Now, that does not mean that he's decided to conduct an invasion in 2027, or any other year, but it's a reminder of the seriousness of his focus and his ambition,' he told an event at Georgetown University in Washington. 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 by the 'very poor performance' of the Russian military and its weapons systems in Ukraine.

Russia and China signed an "unrestricted" partnership last February shortly before Russian forces invaded Ukraine, and their economic ties have boomed as Russia's ties with the West have weakened. The Russian invasion has stoked fears in the west of China, which may have made a similar move in Taiwan, a democratic island that Beijing says is its territory. China has refrained from condemning Russia's operation against Ukraine but has been careful not to provide the kind of direct material support that could trigger Western sanctions like those imposed on Moscow. "I think it's a mistake to underestimate the mutual commitment to this partnership, but it's not a completely borderless friendship," Burns said.

As Burns spoke, reports came from U.S. officials that a suspected Chinese spy balloon had been flying over the United States for several days and that senior U.S. officials had advised President Joe Biden not to shoot it down for fear the debris could pose a security threat. . Burn did not mention the episode, but called China the "biggest geopolitical challenge" facing the United States today. The Chinese Embassy in Washington did not immediately comment on Burns' remarks or the balloon flight.