Trump Denies Offering To Sell US Weapons To China During Xi Meeting
US President Donald Trump on Monday denied asking Chinese President Xi Jinping if he wanted to buy American weapons, contradicting US Ambassador to China David Perdue’s account of their meeting.
Trump was asked about Perdue’s comments that the US president had made the extraordinary offer during Xi’s state visit to the White House last week in response to Chinese concerns over US weapons sales to Taiwan.
“I’ve never heard of that one, I’m going to have to ask him,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office.
“They’d probably like to buy it because we do make better equipment than them, so maybe it’s a good idea. But we didn’t discuss it.”
Perdue had told Fox News on Sunday that Trump made the offer to Xi in response to Chinese concerns over US weapons sales to Taiwan.
“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 said.
“There are continuing conversations about other sales, (Trump) and President Xi talk about that every time they get together,” Perdue added, saying the US position had not changed.
A US official earlier told AFP that “the US government has no plans to sell weapons to China” when asked about Perdue’s remarks.
US arms sales to Taiwan have long been a thorny issue between Washington and Beijing. The United States is required by law to supply Taiwan, which has a democratically elected president and legislature, with weapons for its defence. The US State Department also told The New York Times that “US law prohibits arms sales to China and there is no offer or plan to sell arms to China.”
The Chinese foreign ministry did not directly answer when asked about the comments on Monday. But it said China has “always strengthened its national defense capabilities based on its own needs, and remains committed to maintaining world peace and stability.”
Trump has maintained a strategically ambiguous stance over Taiwan, refusing to say directly whether the US would come to its aid if China invades, while continuing to approve weapons sales.
Beijing warned Taiwan in June that seeking independence “by relying on the United States or through military means is a dead end.”
Washington approved an $11.1 billion arms sale to Taiwan in December, which Perdue said was a sale of “more arms to Taiwan than any other president since 1979.”
The US paused a $14 billion weapons purchase by Taiwan in May, with Trump calling it a “very good negotiating chip” in dealings with China, raising fears that Taiwan’s security could be traded away.
On Tuesday, Taiwan Defence Minister Wellington Koo said existing US arms sales to Taiwan remain unchanged and that Taipei is continuing discussions with Washington over individual deals. Koo said Taiwan had received assurances from the US side that its policy towards the island remained unchanged.
However, the record $14 billion arms package remains stalled after the United States paused the deal following Trump’s May meeting with Xi. Koo also said 66 advanced F-16V fighter jets for Taiwan had reached a production stage where they were ready for delivery, although the programme has been delayed by pandemic-related and production-line issues.
During his Washington trip, Xi repeated his warning that Trump should show “prudence” over Taiwan and went further to urge the United States to oppose Taiwan independence explicitly. Trump has declined to say whether he discussed Taiwan with Xi during the visit, preferring to stress what he says is his good relationship with the Chinese leader as the two countries seek to manage their tensions.
The two leaders have met twice already this year, with Trump having travelled to Beijing in May. They have confirmed they will meet for a third and fourth time at the APEC summit in Shenzhen in November and the G20 forum at Trump’s Doral resort in Miami in December.