President Donald Trump dismissed U.S. Ambassador to China David Perdue’s claims that White House discussed selling U.S. weapons to Chinese President Xi Jinping during last week’s state visit.
“I’ve never heard of that one,” Trump told reporters on Monday at the White House. “I’m going to have to ask him. You mean we’re going to sell? Now they probably would like to buy it because we do make better equipment than them, so maybe it’s a good idea. But we didn’t discuss that.”
Perdue told Fox News on Sunday that Trump asked Xi whether he would “like to buy some [weapons] at one point.” Trump suggested to the press on Monday that Perdue was likely “talking about Taiwan.”
U.S. law prohibits arms sales to Beijing, and the State Department has said that “there is no offer or plan to sell arms to China.”
The U.S. imposed a weapons sale embargo on China after the 1989 massacre of pro-democracy protesters in Tiananmen Square.
Perdue’s comments come after Chinese state media reported that Xi asked Trump to oppose Taiwan independence during the three-day state visit last week, as the Trump administration delays its decision regarding a record-breaking $14 billion military aid package for Taiwan.
The delay has been a cause for concern for some Republicans, including Sens. Mitch McConnell (R-KY), John Cornyn (R-TX), Lisa Murkowski (R-AK), and Thom Tillis (R-NC), who this month sent War Secretary Pete Hegseth and Secretary of State Marco Rubio a letter asking for an explanation.
The senators specifically referenced Trump describing the military package as a “very good negotiating chip” in relation to China.
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“It is difficult to imagine how the United States might credibly project influence in the Indo-Pacific if the price of keeping up diplomatic appearances is denying our partners key deterrent capabilities,” the senators wrote. “Individually, instances of delayed or denied assistance test the strength of a security relationship you have described as essential.”