Trump offered to sell arms to China during Xi visit, US ambassador tells Fox News
Trump’s China Arms Remark Highlights Taiwan’s Continuing Security Challenge
Poinews.com – US President Donald Trump raised the possibility of selling weapons to China during talks with President Xi Jinping, an unusual remark made amid renewed tension over US military support for Taiwan.
David Perdue, the US ambassador to China, said Trump made the suggestion while responding to Beijing’s longstanding objections to American arms sales to the self-governed island. Xi visited the United States last week, where Taiwan again featured prominently in discussions between the two governments.
“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 in an interview aired on Sunday that the exchange reflected Trump’s broader argument that Washington sells weapons internationally and does not treat Taiwan as an exceptional customer. The ambassador said the US position on Taiwan had not changed.
Arms sales remain a core dispute
China considers Taiwan part of its territory and has repeatedly opposed military assistance from Washington to Taipei. Taiwan, however, has its own democratically elected president and legislature, and maintains its own military forces.
The United States is required under the 1979 Taiwan Relations Act to provide Taiwan with weapons needed for self-defence. That law does not establish formal diplomatic relations between Washington and Taipei, but it has remained a central part of US policy toward the island for decades.
Perdue said the two presidents regularly discuss other potential weapons transactions when they meet, while stressing that the broader approach remains unchanged.
“There are continuing conversations about other sales, (Trump) and President Xi talk about that every time they get together,”
The remarks came after Washington approved an $11.1 billion (€9.7 billion) arms package for Taiwan in December. Perdue described it as the largest sale of weapons to Taiwan by any US president since 1979.
Such packages are intended to support Taiwan’s ability to defend itself, but they also regularly trigger sharp criticism from Beijing. For China’s leadership, foreign military sales to Taiwan are seen as interference in an issue it considers an internal matter.
Xi presses Washington over independence
During his trip to Washington, Xi reiterated his call for Trump to act with “prudence” on Taiwan. He also urged the United States to state explicitly that it opposes Taiwanese independence.
Beijing has consistently framed any move toward formal independence by Taiwan as unacceptable. In June, China warned that attempts to pursue independence through military means or by relying on the United States would lead nowhere.
The Taiwan question remains one of the most sensitive subjects in relations between the world’s two largest economies. It combines issues of sovereignty, military deterrence, diplomacy and domestic politics on both sides of the Taiwan Strait.
For Taiwan, US arms deliveries are important not only for the equipment provided but also for what they signal about Washington’s willingness to help sustain the island’s security. Delays, changes in the scale of sales or uncertainty over future support can therefore carry political significance beyond the immediate value of any package.
Concerns over Taiwan’s role in negotiations
Trump’s comments have also drawn attention because he suggested in May that a future arms package for Taipei could serve as leverage in negotiations with China. That idea raised concern that Taiwan’s defence needs could become part of a wider bargain between Washington and Beijing.
The ambassador’s latest comments indicate that arms sales continue to be discussed directly by the two leaders, even as the United States maintains its legal commitment to help Taiwan defend itself. The balance is delicate: Washington seeks to deter conflict while avoiding steps that could further destabilise relations with Beijing.
Trump’s suggestion that China might purchase American weapons appears to have been framed as a response to Chinese complaints, rather than as an announced policy proposal. Even so, the remark underscores the unusual and often unpredictable language surrounding a dispute that has shaped US-China relations for generations.
With Beijing continuing to press its claim over Taiwan and Washington continuing to approve defensive support for the island, the issue is likely to remain at the centre of high-level exchanges between the two countries.
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