U.S. Ambassador to China David Perdue said Trump raised the idea of arms sales from the U.S. to Xi, in an offer that would have upended generations of U.S. policy toward China and Taiwan.
President Donald Trump reportedly asked Chinese President Xi Jinping if he had any interest in purchasing weapons from the United States during the Chinese leader's State Visit last week.
U.S. Ambassador to China David Perdue said Trump raised the idea of arms sales from the U.S. to Xi, in an offer that would have upended generations of U.S. policy toward China and Taiwan and could expose U.S. tech to a potential adversary.
Perdue made the remarks to Fox News' Shannon Bream on "Fox News Sunday," after President Trump bid farewell to China's Xi on Friday.
The ambassador did not specify when the weapons offer was made.
On Monday, the State Department responded to Perdue's comments, reiterating that U.S. law "prohibits arms sales to China" and that there is currently "no offer or plan to sell arms to China.
Perdue told Fox's Bream that Trump was appearing to downplay the United States' regular arms sales to Taiwan, describing it as one of the many sales the U.S. conducts around the world, which led to Trump asking Xi if he had any interest in weapons.
The reporter had cited bipartisan concerns from lawmakers over delayed aid and weapons packages to Taiwan and asked Perdue if the U.S. is potentially denying arms sales to Taiwan to make China's Xi happy.
Perdue condemned the assumption, telling Bream that Trump is "as strong on Taiwan as I've ever seen anybody."
The ambassador said the U.S. has sold plenty of weapons to Taiwan and that Trump and the Chinese president continue to talk about those sales.
"But 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.
Evan Sankey, an analyst focused on U.S. policy toward China at the Cato Institute, told The Associated Press the U.S. last sold weapons to China in the 1980s. Sankey said resuming the sales would be a "shocking policy change."
Currently, the U.S. holds obligations under a domestic law to provide Taiwan with the means to defend itself and deter an invasion by Beijing, which has threatened to seize the island by force if necessary. The U.S. remains Taiwan's primary arms provider, while not recognizing the island as a country.
In May, Xi pressed Trump on stopping the arms sales to Taiwan during the president's visit in Beijing. After that meeting, the U.S. paused the sale of a $14 billion package, with Trump calling the sales to Taiwan a "very good negotiating chip" with China.
During Xi's visit to the White House last week, Chinese state media reported that he pressed Trump on opposing Taiwan's independence.
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The Associated Press contributed to this report.
