ukrainian territory in the country s east. the biden administration says if beijing does provide weapons it will pay a real cost. we re not just making direct threats, we re just laying out the stakes and consequences how things will infold. and we are doing that clearly and specifically behind closed doors. cnn white house correspondent jeremy diamond joins us now, so, jeremy, some intense discussions as we go going on behind closed doors. any idea how imminent this potential for china could be? well, bianna, it s been clear, china has been weighing this for several months or so. but we re seeing over the last week, u.s. officials publicly and privately conveying to china there would be severe consequences if they do indeed move forward with providing lethal aid to russia. we do know china has provided nonlethal aid, body armor, helmets but u.s. intelligence now believes china is considering presenting russia with drones and ammunition. and there are questions about th
considering presenting russia with drones and ammunition. and there are questions about the price and scope of that kind of assistance. now u.s. intelligence officials have reason to believe that china is leaning towards that lethal assistance but so far no indication that a decision has been made. here s the cia director bill burns on all of that. well, we re catch department 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. 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. and that last part there, that you hear from the cia director is so important because u.s. officials believe that part of china s calculus is actually weighing how the united states and the west, remember, there s a coalition of about 30 countries led by the united