According to William Burns, the war in Ukraine is of great interest to Chinese leader Xi Jinping. And the way events unfolded in the Russian-Ukrainian war had a sobering effect on him.
William Burns, director of the US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), is convinced that Beijing is considering providing lethal weapons to Moscow. For its part, Washington is making every effort to keep China from making the wrong decision. The director of the CIA spoke about this in an interview with CBS News on February 25.
Burns noted that the information received about the intentions of the Chinese authorities to provide Russia with lethal weapons differs markedly from previous assessments in the Administration of President Joe Biden. At the same time, China has not yet taken concrete steps, and there is no actual evidence that Russia has already received such weapons from China.
“We are confident that the Chinese leadership is considering the possibility of providing lethal weapons … But so far we do not see that the final decision has already been made, and we do not see evidence of actual deliveries of lethal weapons,” Burns said.
According to him, for Chinese leader Xi Jinping, this step would be very risky and unwise, as US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken has already said, warning Beijing of the possible consequences of such a decision. At the same time, the Russian-Ukrainian war is of great interest to the Secretary General of the PRC, and the way events unfolded last year had a sobering effect on him.
“There is no foreign leader who has more closely watched the actions of Vladimir Putin in Ukraine and the development of the war than Xi Jinping. I think in many ways he was disturbed and sobered by what he saw,” Burns believes.
When asked by a journalist why China would risk close ties with the United States and Europe for military assistance to Russia, Burns replied that this was a good question, and therefore he hoped that Beijing would not take such a step.
Recall, according to CNN, US intelligence suggests that the Chinese government is considering providing Russia with drones and ammunition for small arms. the February 25 publication stated that negotiations between Russia and China on the price and volume of equipment were still ongoing.
