US ambassador to China David Perdue said President Donald Trump offered to sell American weapons to Chinese leader Xi Jinping during a meeting last week.
Key facts
- US ambassador to China David Perdue made the remarks on Fox News on Sunday.
- Perdue said Trump asked Xi Jinping if he would like to buy US weapons.
- Trump's offer came while he hosted Xi last week.
- The comments follow a Taiwanese minister describing a 'severe' military threat from Beijing.
President Donald Trump offered to sell American weapons to China’s leader, Xi Jinping, during a meeting last week, the US ambassador to China said on Sunday.
David Perdue told Fox News: “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.”
According to the Guardian, Perdue’s remarks came after a Taiwanese minister spoke of the “severe” military threat posed by Beijing to the self-ruled island.
Sky News also reported the ambassador’s account, saying Trump offered China’s president the chance to buy American weapons.
The comments highlight Trump’s framing of US arms sales as a routine part of trade with countries around the world, extended in this instance to China.
No further details were provided in the sources about the context of the exchange, whether Xi responded, or any specific weapons discussed.
Why it matters
The United States is a major arms supplier globally but has historically restricted such sales to China, particularly given tensions over Taiwan. An offer to sell weapons to Beijing, as described by the ambassador, would mark an unusual departure worth watching for its diplomatic and regional security implications.