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Donald Trump asked Xi Jinping “at one point” if China was interested in purchasing American weapons, the American envoy to Beijing said on Sunday.
In an interview with Fox News, Ambassador David Perdue said, “President Trump keeps saying, hey, we’re selling guns to other people around the world. He actually asked President Xi if he’d like to buy some at some point?”
The comment responded to questions about whether Trump delayed approving a record $14 billion package of arms sales to Taiwan in an effort to appease Xi and avoid derailing his meetings with the Chinese leader.
Perdue did not say whether Trump made the offer at this week’s summit or on another occasion, such as during their meeting in Beijing in May.
Trump’s comments are all the more notable given that his administration has raised concerns about Beijing’s aid – including dual-use technology with military applications – to Iran and views China as its biggest military rival.
“Trump’s alleged offer to sell arms to China is insane. I bet Xi was tempted to say, ‘We’ll take one of everything, please,'” said Zack Cooper, an Asia security expert at the American Enterprise Institute. “It is shocking that Trump opposes allowing arms sales to Taiwan while offering them to China. »
Before the summit, Taiwan and U.S. allies were worried that Trump could weaken U.S. support for Taiwan to get something in return from Xi. After their last meeting, held in Beijing in May, Trump sparked concern by saying that arms sales to Taiwan were a “good bargaining chip.”
The White House did not respond to a request for comment on Perdue’s remarks.
Dennis Wilder, George W Bush’s former senior White House adviser on Asia, said Trump may have “pulled President Xi’s chain” to remind him of US weapons superiority, but stressed that even that was dangerous.
“Even joking about an issue of great importance to Taiwan and our allies in East Asia could redouble existing doubts about how seriously the president takes the threat of Chinese military aggression,” Wilder said.
Perdue dismissed concerns about Trump’s stance on Taiwan, saying he was “as strong on Taiwan as I’ve ever seen anybody” and rejected suggestions that Trump delayed the $14 billion arms sales program to appease China.
China’s official Xinhua news agency said Thursday that Xi said Beijing “hopes the US side will adhere to the correct position of opposing ‘Taiwan independence’.”
Perdue said U.S. policy toward Taiwan has not changed. This includes the One China Policy, under which the United States recognizes Beijing as the government of China and recognizes – but does not accept – its claim to sovereignty over Taiwan.
Perdue declined to discuss the timeline for the $14 billion weapons package, except to say conversations were “continuing.”
He pointed out that Trump authorized a record $11.1 billion in weapons to Taipei last December, more than the $8.4 billion approved by President Joe Biden over four years, according to the U.S.-Taiwan Business Council. And he said Trump has approved more than 50 percent more weapons for Taiwan than any U.S. leader since 1979.
Speaking to CBS News on Sunday, Alexander Yui, Taiwan’s de facto ambassador to the United States, said: “The United States has been our main arms supplier to Taiwan. We hope we can get these weapons (package) as soon as possible.”
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