Trump asked Xi if China wanted to buy US weapons: Ambassador
Speaking on Fox News, Perdue said Trump raised the possibility of weapons sales directly with Xi
US President Donald Trump asked Chinese President Xi Jinping whether China would be interested in purchasing American weaponry during Xi's visit to Washington, US Ambassador to China David Perdue said.
Speaking on Fox News, Perdue said Trump raised the possibility of weapons sales directly with Xi, according to a Guardian report.
"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.
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The comments were followed by clarifications from the US administration that Washington has no plans to sell weapons to China.
The US Department of State said US law strictly prohibits arms sales to China and that there was no offer or plan to sell weapons to Beijing. The White House separately told The New York Times that the United States had no plans to engage in weapons sales with China.
The remarks came as Taiwan awaits presidential approval for a $14 billion US arms package. Trump previously put the package on hold during a May meeting with Xi in Beijing, publicly describing the weapons deal as a "very good negotiating chip" in diplomatic dealings with China.
Under the Taiwan Relations Act, Washington is legally required to provide Taiwan with sufficient defensive equipment. Beijing considers Taiwan a breakaway province and firmly opposes US arms sales to the island.
Taiwanese Deputy Foreign Minister Chen Ming-chi said China continued to pose a severe military threat by investing heavily in its armed capacity despite its internal economic challenges.
China is a net exporter of military hardware. Most of its defence imports historically came from Russia, but data from the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute showed China's weapons imports fell by 72% between 2021 and 2025 as its domestic military manufacturing capabilities expanded.
Chinese state media praised the "extraordinary level of courtesy" shown to Xi during his Washington summit with Trump.
