U.S. Ambassador David Perdue said Trump asked Xi Jinping if China wanted to buy U.S. weapons, but gave no date. The State Department said U.S. law bars arms sales to China and there is no offer or plan to sell them; a $14 billion Taiwan arms package remains delayed.
Perdue made the remark to Fox News on Sunday, days after Xi’s state visit, which ran from Wednesday through Friday. He did not say when Trump asked the question. The United States has maintained a strict weapons embargo on China since Beijing’s 1989 crackdown on pro-democracy protesters in Tiananmen Square.
Four Republican senators asked Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Secretary of State Marco Rubio to explain the Taiwan package delay, saying the situation and Trump’s relationship with Xi raised concerns about U.S. commitments to allies. Perdue rejected the suggestion that Trump was withholding Taiwan weapons to appease Xi and claimed Trump had sold more arms to Taiwan than any president since 1979. China scholar Ryan Hass said the reported offer would unsettle U.S. partners.
