Trump Offered Xi US Weapons During Taiwan Sale Talks, Envoy Says
US Ambassador to China David Perdue says Trump asked Xi Jinping whether China would like to buy American weapons, amid tensions over a pending arms sale to Taiwan.
President Donald Trump asked Chinese President Xi Jinping whether China would be interested in purchasing American weapons, according to his ambassador to China, as Washington moves ahead with a pending arms sale to Taiwan.
David Perdue, the US ambassador to China, said in a television interview on Sunday that Trump has defended the Taiwan sale by framing it as routine, noting that Washington sells arms to partners around the world. Perdue said Trump raised the idea of China buying US arms directly with Xi, though he did not say when the offer was made.
The remarks came days after Trump hosted Xi for a state visit in Washington. Perdue rejected suggestions that the United States is withholding support from Taiwan to placate Beijing, saying Trump "is as strong on Taiwan as I've ever seen anybody" and has approved substantial weapons sales to the island.
Perdue added that Trump and Xi continue to discuss future US arms sales to Taiwan. The United States is legally required to help Taiwan defend itself, and while it does not recognize the island as a country, it remains Taipei's most significant informal backer and arms supplier. Successive US administrations have kept ambiguous whether they would use military force to defend Taiwan in the event of a Chinese invasion.
Beijing has repeatedly urged Washington to halt arms sales to Taiwan, most notably at a summit between Trump and Xi in May. After that meeting, the United States paused a record $14 billion weapons package, and Trump described Taiwan arms sales as a "very good negotiating chip" with China.
During their private talks at the White House last week, Xi pressed Trump to oppose Taiwan independence, according to Chinese state media.