CIA Director Bill Burns said Chinese President Xi Jinping has instructed his country’s army to be prepared to invade Taiwan by 2027 at the latest. But that doesn’t mean military conflict is inevitable. 

“We do know, as has been made public, that President Xi has instructed the PLA, the Chinese military leadership, to be ready by 2027 to invade Taiwan. But that doesn’t mean that he’s decided to invade in 2027 or any other year as well,” Burns told “Face the Nation.” “We need to take very seriously Xi’s ambitions with regard to ultimately controlling Taiwan.”

Burns said Xi has yet to make a final decision because he has doubts about the People’s Liberation Army’s ability to succeed. Those doubts are partially fueled by Russia’s military struggles in Ukraine.

This revelation comes as Burns, Secretary of State Antony Blinken and National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan go public with intelligence that China is considering providing Russia with military equipment. 

“Well, we’re confident that the Chinese leadership is considering the provision of lethal equipment. We also don’t see that a final decision has been made yet, and we don’t see evidence of actual shipments of lethal equipment,” Burns said. “And that’s why, I think, Secretary Blinken and the president have thought it important to make very clear what the consequences of that would be as well.”

The officials hope going public with this information will deter China. 

“But, if it goes down that road, it will come at real costs to China. And I think China’s leaders are weighing that as they make their decisions,” Sullivan said on CNN’s “State of the Union.”

President Biden said he plans to impose sanctions should China militarily assist Russia, but he won’t provide details ahead of time. The president also said he spoke to Xi and reminded him that assisting Russia could impact Western investment in China.