CIA Director William Burns said at the Aspen Security Forum in Colorado on July 20 that he does not think communist China would invade Taiwan immediately after the 20th National Congress of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) in the fall. However, he warned not to underestimate CCP leader Xi Jinping’s “determination” to take over Taiwan eventually.
When asked at the forum whether an increasingly militarized China would take action against Taiwan, Burns replied: “I wouldn’t underestimate President Xi’s determination to assert the People’s Republic of China’s control over Taiwan. I think he’s determined to ensure that his military has the capability to undertake such an action, should he decide to move in that direction. I think the risks of that become higher, it seems to us, the further into this decade that you get.”
