WASHINGTON (AP) – President Donald Trump justified the imminent sale of American weapons to Taiwan to the Chinese president Xi Jinping downplaying it as one of many sales Washington is making around the world – even asking Xi if he would be present in the US arms market, Trump’s ambassador to China said on Sunday.
David Perdue said Trump had raised the prospect of U.S. arms sales to his ascendant geopolitical rival, an unlikely offer that, if implemented, would upend generations of U.S. policy toward China and Taiwan and potentially expose U.S. technology to a potential enemy. Perdue, speaking to Shannon Bream on “Fox News Sunday” a few days later Trump welcomed Xi for a state visit to Washington, did not say when the offer was made.
Bream had cited concerns from Republican and Democratic lawmakers about delaying aid programs and arms orders to Taiwanautonomous democracy, to defend itself from the Chinese threat of invading the island. Bream asked whether the United States was denying Taiwan to appease the Chinese president, who visited Trump last week.
Perdue pushed back on the suggestion, saying Trump “is as strong on Taiwan as I’ve ever seen anybody” and sold him a lot of weapons. Perdue also said Trump and Xi continue to discuss future U.S. arms sales to Taiwan.
“But President Trump keeps saying, ‘Hey, we’re selling guns to other people around the world,'” Perdue said. “He actually asked President Xi if he would like to buy some, at some point.”
The United States is required by its own laws to provide Taiwan with the means to defend itself. Although it does not recognize Taiwan as a country, the United States is the island’s main informal donor and arms supplier. But several U.S. leaders have left some ambiguity about whether they would commit military force to defend the U.S. ally in the event of a Chinese invasion.
China has urged Washington to stop arms salesnotably during a previous summit in May between Trump and Xi in Beijing. After that meeting, the United States suspended the sale of a record $14 billion – and Trump described arms sales to Taiwan as arms sales to Taiwan. “very good negotiation tool” with China.
During their private talks at the White House last week, Xi pressed Trump oppose Taiwan independence, according to Chinese state media.
Gn usa
