Who claimed that Donald Trump offered to sell weapons to China?

The US Ambassador to China, David Perdue, made this claim during an interview on Fox News on Sunday. He stated that Trump asked Chinese leader Xi Jinping if he would like to buy American weapons.

How did the US government respond to the claim of a potential arms sale to China?

The White House informed The New York Times that there were no plans to sell arms to China. The State Department also clarified that US law prohibits arms sales to China and that no such offer or plan exists.

What is the broader context of this discussion regarding US arms sales?

The discussion occurred amidst ongoing debates about US arms sales to Taiwan, which has been awaiting approval for a new $14 billion package. Taiwan faces a severe military threat from Beijing, which views the island as a breakaway province.

What is China's position in the global arms trade?

China is primarily a net exporter of weapons. While it historically imported arms, mainly from Russia, these imports have significantly decreased due to advancements in China's own military manufacturing capabilities.

US Ambassador Says Trump Offered to Sell Weapons to China

Washington D.C.

The United States ambassador to China, David Perdue, stated on Sunday that former President Donald Trump offered to sell weapons to China during a meeting last week with Chinese leader Xi Jinping. The remarks were made during an interview on Fox News, according to The Guardian and NDTV.

Ambassador Perdue's comments came amidst ongoing discussions about U.S. arms sales to Taiwan and the military threat the self-ruled island faces from Beijing.

Trump's Offer and Official Denials

During his interview on Sunday, David Perdue told Fox News that President Trump had raised the possibility of arms sales to China. "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 was quoted as saying by The Guardian.

The offer was reportedly made while President Trump was hosting President Xi in Washington, specifically in the White House, according to NDTV.

Following Perdue's interview, the White House informed The New York Times that the U.S. had no plans to sell arms to China. The State Department also issued a statement, clarifying that "US law prohibits arms sales to China and there is no offer or plan to sell arms to China," The Guardian reported.

Ambassador Perdue later told CNBC on Friday that there had been no change in Taiwan policy by Trump, including on arms sales, according to The Guardian.

Context of Taiwan Arms Sales

Perdue's revelation emerged during an interview focused on U.S. policy regarding Taiwan. The self-ruled island has been awaiting approval for months on a new U.S. arms sales package valued at $14 billion (£10.5 billion), following a record multibillion-dollar deal announced in December of the previous year, The Guardian stated.

President Trump's commitment to Taiwan's protection has been questioned previously. During a meeting with President Xi in Beijing in May, Trump stated he was holding the $14 billion Taiwan arms sales package in abeyance, describing it as a "very good negotiating chip" in dealings with China, according to The Guardian.

The United States has long maintained a policy of "strategic ambiguity" regarding whether it would defend Taiwan in the event of an invasion. However, the decades-old Taiwan Relations Act mandates that the U.S. provide Taipei with sufficient military equipment for its self-defense, The Guardian reported.

Beijing views Taiwan as a breakaway province and has repeatedly stated its "resolute opposition" to Washington's arms sales to the island democracy. China has not renounced the use of force to incorporate Taiwan, despite never having ruled it. During their Washington meeting last week, President Xi urged President Trump to oppose "Taiwan independence," according to a readout from the official Chinese news agency Xinhua, as reported by The Guardian.

Before Ambassador Perdue's interview, Taiwanese Deputy Foreign Minister Chen Ming-chi spoke of the "severe" military threat posed by China. "Taiwan faces a severe situation in the Taiwan strait. Even though China’s economy is declining, it continues investing more resources into building military capacity. Under ‌this context, the US very much understands our defence needs," Chen told reporters in Taipei, according to The Guardian.

President Trump has not publicly mentioned the potential sale of weapons to China since last week's summit. On Saturday, he stated only that President Xi understands his position on Taiwan, The Guardian noted.

China's Role in Global Arms Trade and Historical Context

China is primarily a net exporter of weapons. While it does import arms, most of these historically come from Russia. However, the volume of these imports is rapidly declining due to advancements in China's indigenous military manufacturing capabilities. Data from the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute indicates that China's arms imports fell by 72% between 2021 and 2025 compared with the preceding five-year period, The Guardian reported.

On Monday, Chinese state media praised the "extraordinary level of courtesy" that President Trump had extended to President Xi during the Chinese leader's visit to Washington, according to The Guardian.

Separately, on Sunday, a Taiwanese official, Shen Yu-chung, challenged what he described as an attempt by Beijing to "falsely claim that the Chinese Communist party and the US were allies" during the Second World War. This statement followed a White House fact sheet released after the Trump-Xi summit, which had claimed China and the U.S. "fought side by side to win" in the war, The Guardian reported.

The Chinese government during the Second World War was the Republic of China, led by Chiang Kai-shek. Chiang's government relocated to Taiwan in 1949 after losing the Chinese civil war to the communists, who subsequently established the People's Republic of China in 1949. In recent years, Taiwan has sought to emphasize its historical alliance with Western democratic nations to strengthen international support against potential aggression from Beijing, according to The Guardian.