President Donald Trump reportedly raised an unexpected question with Chinese President Xi Jinping during a conversation about US weapons sales. The claim comes from US Ambassador to China David Perdue, who discussed the alleged exchange while addressing Washington’s military support for Taiwan. Perdue did not reveal when Trump reportedly posed the question.
Ambassador David Perdue says Trump asked whether China wanted to become a US arms buyer, claims report
US Ambassador to China David Perdue has claimed that President Donald Trump once asked Chinese President Xi Jinping whether China would be interested in buying weapons from the United States. Perdue made the claim during an appearance on Fox News Sunday.
The ambassador’s comments came after host Shannon Bream questioned whether the United States was delaying weapons orders and aid for Taiwan to avoid upsetting Xi. Perdue rejected that suggestion and said Trump has remained strongly supportive of Taiwan. He also said the president continues to discuss future US weapons sales to the island with Xi.
According to AP News, Perdue explained, “But President Trump continues to say, ‘Hey, we sell arms to other people around the world. He actually asked President Xi, would he like to buy some, at one point.” As of now, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun has not confirmed the remarks.
The reported remark concerns a particularly sensitive issue in US-China relations. American law requires Washington to make defensive weapons available to Taiwan, although the United States does not formally recognize Taiwan as an independent country.
China has repeatedly called on Washington to stop supplying weapons to Taiwan. The issue was raised during a previous summit between Trump and Xi in Beijing in May. Following that meeting, the United States paused a record-breaking $14 billion weapons package for Taiwan. Trump later described arms sales to Taiwan as a “very good negotiating chip” in dealings with China.
