Chinese President Xi Jinping's ambitions for Taiwan should not be underestimated, although he may have been sobered by the Russian military's performance in Ukraine.

The Director of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) of the United States, William Burns, warned about this on Thursday, quoted by "Reuters". 

Burns said the United States knew as a matter of intelligence that Xi had ordered his military to be ready to invade self-ruled Taiwan by 2027.

"This does not mean that he has decided to invade in 2027 or any other year, but it is a reminder of the seriousness of his focus and his ambition," Burns said at an event at Georgetown University in Washington.

"Our assessment at the CIA is that I would not underestimate President Xi's ambitions regarding Taiwan," he said, adding that the Chinese leader was likely "surprised and disturbed" and trying to learn from Russia's "very poor performance" army and its weapons systems in Ukraine.

Russia and China signed a partnership last February shortly before Russian forces invaded Ukraine, and their economic ties have flourished while Russia's ties with the West have soured.

The head of the CIA has visited Kyiv again

The Russian invasion has fueled fears in western China that it may take a similar move against Taiwan, a democratic island that Beijing says is its territory.

China has refrained from condemning Russia's operation against Ukraine, but has been careful not to provide direct material support that could provoke Western sanctions like those imposed on Moscow.

"I think it's a mistake to underestimate the mutual commitment to this partnership, but it's not a completely borderless friendship," Burns said.

Burns said the next six months would be critical for Ukraine, where Moscow has been making gradual gains in recent weeks.

He also said Iran's government was increasingly uneasy about Iranian women, whom the regime had angered.