Trump Offered To Sell Arms To China, US Ambassador Tells Fox News

US President Donald Trump offered to sell weapons to China in response to Beijing’s concerns over American arms sales to Taiwan, US Ambassador to China David Perdue said in a Fox News interview aired Sunday.

The issue of US weapons sales to Taiwan has long remained a major point of friction between Washington and Beijing. China claims Taiwan as part of its territory, while the United States is legally required to provide the self-ruled island with weapons to support its defence.

Perdue said the issue came up again during Chinese President Xi Jinping’s visit to the United States last week.

“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,” Perdue said.

He added that Trump and Xi continue to discuss potential arms sales during their meetings, while Washington’s position on Taiwan has remained unchanged.

In December, the United States approved an $11.1 billion arms package for Taiwan. Perdue described it as more arms sold to Taiwan than under any other US president since 1979.

China has repeatedly warned Taiwan against pursuing independence with US backing or through military means. In June, Beijing said that seeking independence “by relying on the United States or through military means is a dead end.”

During his visit to Washington, Xi again urged Trump to exercise “prudence” on the Taiwan issue and called on the United States to explicitly oppose Taiwan independence.

Trump had also suggested in May that a planned US arms package for Taiwan could potentially be used as a negotiating tool in talks with China. The remarks raised concerns in Taiwan over whether its security commitments could become part of broader US-China negotiations.