Trump offered to sell arms to China, US ambassador tells Fox News

US Ambassador to China David Perdue made a notable statement in an interview with Fox News, saying that President Donald Trump had offered to sell American weapons to Chinese leader Xi Jinping. According to Perdue, Trump told Xi that the United States sells arms to many countries around the world and directly asked him whether China would be interested in purchasing some as well. The remark, reportedly made during a meeting last week, has drawn significant international attention because it appears to contradict decades of US policy that generally prohibits arms sales to China for national security reasons.

The statement emerged in a particularly sensitive context. According to several reports, Trump's offer came in response to Chinese concerns over US arms sales to Taiwan. Beijing regards Taiwan as a breakaway province and routinely objects strongly to any American military support for the self-governed island. Some observers therefore interpret Trump's remark as a kind of negotiating gesture, potentially intended to respond to Chinese criticism by suggesting a form of reciprocity or symmetry in arms transactions between the two countries.

The story was picked up by a range of international outlets, including Channel News Asia, The Guardian, Straits Times, Japan Times and The Independent, all of which relied on Perdue's Fox News interview over the weekend as the primary source. It remains unclear under what precise circumstances the exchange between Trump and Xi took place, and whether the comment reflected a serious policy proposal or a more casual, rhetorical remark — a style not unusual for Trump's public communication.

Notably, the White House's own response appears more cautious. According to the Straits Times, a US official stated that Washington currently has no plans to sell arms to China. The Independent likewise cited a State Department official who said arms sales to China are simply prohibited under existing US law. This official clarification stands in some tension with Perdue's account of Trump's direct question to Xi. Reports therefore differ on whether this was a concrete policy offer or an off-the-cuff remark that does not reflect actual US government policy.

The episode occurs at a moment when, according to observers cited by Japan Times, Trump's approach to China is seen as difficult to read even by close US allies in the Asia-Pacific region. Given the historically sensitive nature of arms balance and Taiwan's security, such a statement — even if it does not lead to actual negotiations — could raise diplomatic questions among regional partners who are already struggling to discern a coherent White House strategy toward Beijing.

The broader backdrop includes a generally tense dynamic between Washington and Beijing. Japan Times reported separately that China has been stepping in to fill gaps in United Nations activities as the Trump administration withholds dues and withdraws from various international bodies. Against this backdrop, some analysts view the reported arms offer as one more element in an unpredictable pattern of exchanges between the two powers, in which economic, military, and diplomatic signals are closely intertwined.

Several questions remain unresolved. It is not known whether Xi responded to the offer, and if so, how. It is also unclear whether the remark reflects any genuine internal deliberation within the US administration about loosening existing export restrictions, or whether it was simply an impromptu comment by Trump during the meeting. No direct statement from the White House itself — as opposed to a general comment from an unnamed official — appears to confirm or deny Perdue's account in the sources reviewed so far.

The story is likely to remain a topic of discussion in the coming days, particularly in Taiwan, whose government recently described the military threat posed by Beijing as "severe." Should it turn out that Trump's remark carried genuine policy weight, it could have significant implications for the regional security balance. For now, however, the exact meaning and intent behind the comment remain subject to conflicting interpretations among the ambassador, the White House, and the State Department.