Trump floated selling US weapons to Xi during White House summit
Ambassador David Perdue says Trump minimized a Taiwan arms shipment and at one point asked Xi if he would be interested in buying US weapons.
During private conversations at last week's White House summit, President Donald Trump downplayed a forthcoming US arms shipment to Taiwan and even raised the prospect of selling American weapons to Chinese President Xi Jinping, the US ambassador to Beijing said in a television interview.
David Perdue told viewers on Fox News Sunday that Trump framed the Taiwan sale as one among many arms deals Washington carries out worldwide, and at one point “asked President Xi whether he would like to buy some of those weapons.” Perdue said the remark came up as the two leaders talked during Xi’s three-day state visit to Washington earlier this month.
What the ambassador said and the wider implications
Perdue warned that although it seems unlikely such an offer would be acted on, a decision to sell US military equipment to China would be a dramatic break with long-standing US policy toward Beijing and Taipei and could risk placing advanced American technology in the hands of a strategic rival.
Fox News host Shannon Bream pressed Perdue on congressional concerns about delays in aid packages and arms deliveries meant to help Taiwan defend itself. Perdue rejected the idea that Trump was trying to placate Xi, saying the president’s stance toward Taiwan was “stronger than ever” and noting that the administration has approved substantial weapons sales to the island.
Perdue also said talks between Trump and Xi over the future of US arms transfers to Taiwan were ongoing.
Under current US law Washington is obligated to provide Taiwan with means to defend itself. Although the United States does not formally recognize Taiwan as a sovereign state, it remains Taipei’s principal arms supplier and its strongest informal backer. After a meeting in Beijing in May, pressure from China contributed to a delay in delivery of a record $14 billion weapons package, and Trump has described arms sales to Taiwan as “a very good bargaining chip” in dealings with Beijing.
Photo: press material from the event
