Xi ‘unsettled’ by how invasion has united the West
Setbacks for Putin on the battlefield have surprised Chinese leader, head of CIA tells Congress
XI JINPING has been “unsettled” by Russia’s difficulties invading Ukraine, and by how the war has brought the United States and Europe together, according to the head of the CIA.
William Burns, the CIA’S director, said the Chinese leader’s aspirations over Taiwan should not be underestimated, but he believed there had been “an impact on the Chinese calculus”.
Mr Burns told a congressional hearing into global threats: “I do think that they [China] have been surprised and unsettled to some extent by what they’ve seen in Ukraine over the last 12 days – everything from the strength of the Western reaction, to the way in which Ukrainians have fiercely resisted.
“I think they’re a little bit unsettled about the impact on the global economy. And third, I think they’re a little bit unsettled by the way in which Vladimir Putin has driven Europeans and Americans much closer together. They [China] did not anticipate the significant difficulties the Russians were going to run into.”
However, Mr Burns added: “I would just say, analytically, I would not underestimate President Xi and the Chinese leadership’s determination with regard to Taiwan.”
The Russian invasion of Ukraine has caused alarm in self-ruled Taiwan, which China claims as its own, and has vowed to reclaim by force if necessary.
Taiwan has upped its alert level amid fears China could take advantage of the West’s focus on Ukraine to move against it.
Mr Xi, in a joint call with the leaders of France and Germany, said the situation in Ukraine was “worrying” and “seriously deplored” what was happening there.
He also called for “maximum restraint to prevent a massive humanitarian crisis” and stressed the need to encourage peace talks between Russia and Ukraine.
According to Chinese state media, he said: “The priority is to avoid escalating tensions from getting out of control.”
They were the first public remarks by Mr Xi since Russia invaded nearly two weeks ago. China has refused to denounce Russia’s actions and has stopped short of calling it an invasion.
Mr Xi has bolstered ties with Mr Putin over the last decade in efforts to counter the West.
A month ago, they declared a “no limits” friendship between Beijing and Moscow when Mr Putin was in China to attend the opening ceremony of the Winter Olympics in Beijing.
Mention of the war has been heavily censored in China, and a number of foreign embassies in Beijing showing support for Ukraine are under watch by increased security personnel.
The British embassy began flying the Ukrainian flag the morning after Russia invaded, and has hoisted it every day since. The Canadian embassy has put up signs saying “We stand with Ukraine” and “We support Ukraine”.
And the EU Delegation has lit up its building in blue and yellow, the colours of the Ukrainian flag.
Premier League matches were blacked out in China this weekend given public protests in the UK against the war by both players and fans.
Meanwhile, an adviser to China’s government called for new laws banning “fake news”, fuelling concerns that China could use such a measure to further constrain foreign journalists.
Jia Qingguo, an academic who serves on the standing committee of China’s top political advisory body, said there should be specific measures to “severely punish” those who create false information to “cause serious harm to society”.
Yaqiu Wang, senior China researcher with Human Rights Watch, said: “If the law Professor Jia proposed gets passed, it will likely lead to the further chilling of speech.”
Last Friday, the Kremlin passed a law threatening 15-year prison sentences for those in Russia sharing “fake news”, essentially any information going against the government’s position on the invasion of Ukraine.
‘China did not anticipate the significant difficulties the Russians were going to run into’