US President Donald Trump offered to sell American weapons to Chinese President Xi Jinping during the Chinese leader’s visit to the United States last week, according to US Ambassador to China David Perdue. Perdue said on Sunday that Trump had asked Xi whether he was interested in purchasing US weapons.
Speaking to Shannon Bream on Fox News Sunday, Perdue said Trump made the offer after Xi objected to US arms sales to Taiwan, which is democratically governed but claimed by China as part of its territory.
The two leaders were discussing US arms supplies to Taiwan when Trump said, “Hey, we sell arms to other people around the world, according to Perdue. Referring to Trump’s proposal to Xi, Perdue said, “He actually asked President Xi, would he like to buy some (arms), at one point. After that summit, the US put a record $14 billion arms package for Taiwan on hold, while Trump characterised weapons sales to the island as a “very good negotiating chip” in discussions with China. During their private meeting at the White House last week, Xi urged Trump to oppose Taiwan independence, according to Chinese state media.
The US ambassador, however, did not clarify when exactly Trump made the proposal. Beijing has repeatedly called on Washington to halt arms sales to Taiwan, including during a meeting between Trump and Xi in Beijing in May.
