US intel softens on China threat, says no Taiwan invasion planned by 2027 despite military buildup

Despite years of warnings that China could move on Taiwan within the decade, the U.S. intelligence community now assesses that Beijing is not planning an invasion of Taiwan by 2027 and has no fixed timeline for doing so.  

"The IC assesses that Chinese leaders do not currently plan to execute an invasion of Taiwan in 2027, nor do they have a fixed timeline for achieving unification," according to a newly released Annual Threat Assessment.

The finding marks a shift from prior warnings...