Chinese President Xi Jingping is closely observing President Donald Trump’s approach to negotiations between Russia and Ukraine to conclude if this is a good time to begin his long-desired takeover of Taiwan, former ambassador to NATO Kay Bailey Hutchison warned in an interview on NewsNation’s “The Hill Sunday.”
Hutchison, who served in the post during Trump’s first term, emphasized that Xi could determine that the current moment is an opening to take Taiwan if the West appears weak against Russia — and if Moscow doesn’t face adequate consequences for starting the war in Ukraine.
“Xi is watching to see if the West will crater, if the West will just give up, will walk away from Ukraine — which we have said we would not do,” Hutchison stressed. “And if we look weak or vacillating or give up the ability to have Western boundaries remain secure, then I think that means to Xi that maybe this is the time for him to do what he has wanted to do for a long time, which is start taking over Taiwan. He certainly did enough damage in Hong Kong, and now his next feat would be Taiwan.”
Hutchison made the comments after Trump’s summit with Putin on Friday and before he meets with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and other European leaders on Monday to determine the next step.
Hutchison said that having European leaders “at the table … is very good, and also, they deserve to have input. This is their borders, and of course, NATO is part of all of this negotiation, but I think that it is going to be really important to have the Europeans understand what is at stake,” adding that “most assuredly, Ukraine has to have the final say.”
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