US President Donald Trump reportedly raised an unusual proposal with Chinese President Xi Jinping during their recent talks, asking whether Beijing would be interested in buying American weapons, according to US Ambassador to China David Perdue.
Perdue said Trump had used the United States’ arms sales to other countries to explain the pending sale of weapons to Taiwan, which Beijing strongly opposes.
Speaking on Fox News Sunday, Perdue said Trump and Xi have continued discussing future US arms sales to Taiwan. He said Trump had told Xi that Washington sells weapons to countries around the world and, at one point, even asked whether China would like to buy some.
The remarks came after Trump hosted Xi for a state visit in Washington last week, amid continuing tensions over Taiwan. Taiwan is a self-governed democracy that Beijing claims as part of China, while the United States is its main international arms supplier.
Perdue rejected suggestions that Washington was withholding weapons from Taiwan simply to accommodate Xi. He said Trump was “as strong on Taiwan as I’ve ever seen anybody” and pointed to previous US arms sales to the island.
Under US law, Washington is required to provide Taiwan with the means to defend itself, although the United States does not formally recognise Taiwan as an independent country. Successive US administrations have also maintained ambiguity over whether American forces would intervene if China attacked Taiwan.
Beijing has repeatedly urged Washington to stop selling weapons to Taiwan. After Trump and Xi met in Beijing in May, the United States paused a record-breaking US$14 billion weapons package for Taiwan, with Trump describing arms sales as a “very good negotiating chip” in dealings with China.
During their latest White House meeting, Xi also pressed Trump to oppose Taiwan independence, according to Chinese state media.
Perdue did not specify when Trump made the suggestion that China could buy US weapons. If such a proposal were ever pursued, it would represent a major departure from the longstanding US-China relationship and could raise questions over the transfer of sensitive American military technology to Beijing.
