Thank you so much, Mr. Chair.
I would like to thank all our witnesses sincerely for their very detailed, relevant and interesting presentations. I would like to specifically commend Ms. Oliker, who was kind enough to give us her perspective from Europe, where it is a little later for her than for us.
Professor Kimball, I'd like to start with you. I must say that I was quite captivated by your opening remarks when you talked about the relationship between Russia and China. France's former prime minister, Dominique de Villepin, recently said that the Western powers' diplomatic boycott of the Beijing Games has given Xi Jinping and Vladimir Putin free rein to advertise their co-operation on the world stage.
Would you say that China is paying close attention to how the West could react to a potential invasion of Ukraine in order to assess the possibility of potential action in Taiwan?