WASHINGTON. On Tuesday, the CIA director said he believes China’s leader Xi Jinping has been “knocked out” by Russia’s difficulties in invading Ukraine and how the war has brought the United States and Europe closer together.
“I think President Xi and the Chinese leadership are a little concerned about what they see in Ukraine,” U.S. Central Intelligence Agency chief William Burns told U.S. lawmakers during a global threat assessment hearing.
“They didn’t foresee the significant difficulties the Russians would face.”
Nearly two weeks after the invasion began, Russian troops bogged down in Ukraine with up to 4,000 deaths, the Pentagon estimates, and faced unexpectedly strong resistance from Ukrainian forces.
Beijing refused to condemn its close partner Russia’s invasion and said on Monday that their friendship remains “unshakable” despite international condemnation of Moscow. He expressed his willingness to help mediate an end to the war.
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On Tuesday, Xi called for “maximum restraint” on Ukraine, calling the crisis “deeply troubling” at a video summit with his French and German counterparts Emmanuel Macron and Olaf Scholz.
Director of Central Intelligence William Burns (center) testifies on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C. March 8, 2022. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)
Xi said he wanted Russia and Ukraine to “maintain the momentum of the talks, overcome difficulties and continue negotiations to achieve results,” state broadcaster CCTV reported.
Burns, a respected American diplomat for three decades and a former ambassador to Moscow, told the US House of Representatives that China’s leadership is concerned about “the reputational damage that their close association with President Putin could cause.”
He said Beijing is concerned about the economic impact of an alliance with Moscow at a time when China is facing lower annual growth than it has been for much of the past three decades.
Burns added that China is also concerned about the broader geopolitical implications of the Russian invasion, including “how Vladimir Putin has brought Europeans and Americans closer together.”
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