CIA says China is learning from Ukraine war to attack Taiwan

2022-07-21

“The question is not whether the Chinese leadership will choose to use force against Taiwan in the next few years, but rather when and how they will do so,” said Bill Burns, during a speech at the Aspen Security Forum in the United States.

The CIA director relativized the risk of Chinese President Xi Jinping invading Taiwan before the end of this year, which some analysts consider possible, after the 20th Congress of the Chinese Communist Party, which takes place in the autumn.

“That risk appears to be increasing over the decade,” he noted.

The CIA director said China was likely “disturbed” to watch the war in Ukraine, which he called a “strategic failure” for Russian leader Vladimir Putin.

Beijing saw the Russian invasion as proof that “fast and decisive victories cannot be achieved” without sufficient military capability.