Trump Asked Xi If China Wanted US Weapons Amid $14 Billion Taiwan Arms Dispute

US President Donald Trump asked Chinese President Xi Jinping whether he wanted to buy US weapons while discussing Washington’s planned arms sales to Taiwan, US Ambassador to China David Perdue said on Sunday, according to AP.

Perdue’s comments came days after Trump hosted Xi for a state visit in Washington, amid concerns from Republican and Democratic lawmakers over delayed aid packages and weapons orders for Taiwan. Perdue said Trump had defended the sales by pointing to the US practice of supplying arms to countries around the world, while also raising the possibility of selling weapons to China.

Speaking to Shannon Bream on “Fox News Sunday”, Perdue did not specify when Trump made the offer. Such a sale, if carried out, would upend generations of US policy towards Beijing and Taiwan and could potentially expose US military technology to a foe.

Trump Defends Taiwan Arms Sales

Bream cited concerns from Republican and Democratic lawmakers over delayed aid packages and weapons orders for Taiwan, the self-ruled democracy that faces the threat of a Chinese invasion. She asked Perdue whether the US was withholding weapons from Taiwan to appease Xi following his visit to Washington.

Perdue rejected the suggestion, saying Trump “is as strong on Taiwan as I’ve ever seen anybody” and pointing to the weapons the US has sold to the island.

Perdue also said Trump and Xi continue to discuss future US weapons sales to Taiwan, with Trump repeatedly pointing to Washington’s arms sales to countries around the world.

“But President Trump continues to say, ‘Hey, we sell arms to other people around the world,’” Perdue said. “He actually asked President Xi, would he like to buy some, at one point.”

US Obligations To Taiwan

US law requires Washington to provide Taiwan with the means to defend itself. The United States does not recognise Taiwan as a country, but it is the island’s strongest informal backer and arms provider.

However, successive US administrations have left ambiguous whether Washington would commit military force to defend Taiwan if China invaded the island.

China has repeatedly called on the US to halt arms sales to Taiwan, with the issue featuring prominently during an earlier Trump-Xi summit in Beijing in May, AP reported.

Following that meeting, the United States paused a $14 billion weapons package for Taiwan. Trump later described arms sales to Taiwan as a “very good negotiating chip” in negotiations with China.

During their private talks at the White House last week, Xi pressed Trump to oppose Taiwan independence, according to Chinese state media.