China unsettled by Ukraine, but don’t underestimate Xi Jinping’s Taiwan resolve, warns CIA director

President Xi Jinping and other top Chinese leaders appear unsettled by the problems Russia has faced in invading Ukraine but their determination on the Taiwan issue should not be misjudged, the director of the CIA has announced.

Their concerns include the potential reputational damage Beijing faces being associated with Moscow, the speed with which Western allies have come together in response and the possible fallout as China faces its lowest economic growth in three decades, said William Burns, who has headed the agency since March 2021.