US President Donald Trump asked Chinese President Xi Jinping whether Beijing would like to buy American weapons, US Ambassador to China David Perdue said in a Fox News interview.
Perdue said Trump framed US arms sales to Taiwan as part of Washington’s wider weapons trade, asking Xi at one point whether he would like to buy some. US officials later told the South China Morning Post there were no plans to sell weapons to China, and the State Department said US law prohibits arms sales to Beijing and that there was “no offer or plan” to sell arms to China.
The remarks followed Xi’s recent visit to Washington, where Taiwan remained a sensitive issue. Washington approved an $11.1 billion arms package for Taiwan in December, while Trump has delayed a separate $14 billion Taiwan weapons purchase, previously describing it as a negotiating chip with Beijing. Chinese officials did not directly address Perdue’s comments; the foreign ministry said China develops its defence capabilities according to its own needs.
Trump and Xi, who have already met twice in 2026, are expected to meet again at the Apec summit in Shenzhen in November and at the G20 forum in Miami in December.
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