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CIA director: China ‘unsettled’ by Russia’s war in Ukraine

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Agence France-Presse

<div class="embed-wrap"><figure data-feedback="fb:likes,fb:comments"><img alt="Russia President Vladimir Putin (L) and Chinese President Xi Jinping (R), arrive to participate in the BRICS dome session in Brasilia, Brazil, November 14, 2019. Andre Coelho, EPA-EFE" src="https://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2022/overseas/03/08/20220308-putin-xi.jpg"/><figcaption>Russia President Vladimir Putin (L) and Chinese President Xi Jinping (R), arrive to participate in the BRICS dome session in Brasilia, Brazil, November 14, 2019. <em>Andre Coelho, EPA-EFE</em></figcaption></figure></div><p>WASHINGTON — The CIA&#x27;s director said Tuesday he believes China leader Xi Jinping has been &quot;unsettled&quot; by Russia&#x27;s difficulties in invading Ukraine, and by how the war has brought the United States and Europe closer.</p><p>&quot;I think President Xi and the Chinese leadership are a little bit unsettled by what they&#x27;re seeing in Ukraine,&quot; Central Intelligence Agency boss William Burns told US lawmakers during a hearing on global threat assessments.</p><p>&quot;They did not anticipate the significant difficulties the Russians were going to run into.&quot;</p><p>Nearly 2 weeks into the invasion, Russian forces are bogged down in Ukraine, suffering as many as 4,000 fatalities, according to the Pentagon&#x27;s estimate, and encountering unexpectedly strong resistance from Ukrainian forces.</p><p>Beijing has refused to condemn the invasion by its close partner Russia and said Monday their friendship remains &quot;rock solid&quot; despite international condemnation of Moscow. It has expressed an openness to help mediate an end to the war.</p><p>On Tuesday, Xi urged &quot;maximum restraint&quot; over Ukraine, calling the crisis &quot;deeply worrying&quot; in a video summit with his French and German counterparts Emmanuel Macron and Olaf Scholz.</p><ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/overseas/03/01/22/china-tells-ukraine-it-regrets-conflict-as-it-evacuates-citizens">China tells Ukraine it &#x27;regrets&#x27; conflict as it evacuates citizens</a></li></ul><p>Xi said he wanted Russia and Ukraine &quot;to maintain the momentum of negotiations, overcome difficulties and continue the talks to achieve results,&quot; according to state broadcaster CCTV.</p><p>Burns, a respected American diplomat for three decades and a former ambassador to Moscow, told the US House panel that China&#x27;s leadership is concerned &quot;by the reputational damage that can come by their close association with President Putin.&quot;</p><p>He said Beijing was worried about the economic consequences of being a Moscow ally at a moment when China is facing lower annual growth rates than it has for much of the past three decades.</p><p>Burns added that China was also concerned about the broader geopolitical fallout of Russia&#x27;s invasion, including &quot;by the way in which Vladimir Putin has driven Europeans and Americans much closer together.&quot;</p><div><strong>RELATED VIDEO</strong></div><figure class="op-interactive"><iframe allow="autoplay; fullscreen" frameBorder="0" height="100%" id="ivsplayer01" scrolling="no" src="https://player.ivideosmart.com/ivsplayer/v4/dist/html/iframe-src.html?iframeid=ivsplayer01&amp;key=e8c22c015ca9eafa76f1e3edfa03c603&amp;spid=3001339&amp;vid=1955391" width="100%"></iframe></figure><div class="iwantbar">Watch more in <a href="//www.iwantv.com.ph/">iWantv</a> or <a href="//tfc.tv/">TFC.tv</a></div>

Nearly 2 weeks into the invasion, Russian forces are bogged down in Ukraine, with as many as 4,000 fatalities, according to the Pentagon's estimate.