President Donald Trump offered to sell weapons to China during his recent meeting with President Xi Jinping in Washington, according to the US ambassador to China, David Perdue. Speaking on Fox News this Sunday, Perdue stated that the president frequently mentions the country's global arms sales and, at one point during the summit, directly asked the Chinese leader if he would like to buy some.
This development follows ongoing questions regarding the Trump administration's commitment to the defense of Taiwan. In May, during a meeting in Beijing, Trump had described a $14 billion arms sales package for Taiwan as a “very good negotiating chip” in his dealings with China, opting to keep the deal in abeyance. While the United States has long maintained a policy of strategic ambiguity regarding whether it would defend the self-ruled island in the event of an invasion, it remains bound by the decades-old Taiwan Relations Act to provide Taipei with sufficient military equipment for self-defense.
Beijing has consistently expressed its resolute opposition to Washington’s arms sales to Taiwan, which it considers a breakaway province despite never having ruled the island. According to a readout from the official Chinese news agency Xinhua, Xi urged Trump during their Washington meeting to oppose “Taiwan independence.”
The diplomatic discussions have drawn attention from Taiwanese officials. Chen Ming-chi, the Taiwanese deputy foreign minister, recently highlighted the “severe” military threat posed by Beijing. He told reporters in Taipei that even as China’s economy declines, it continues to invest more resources into building its military capacity, noting that the US is well aware of Taiwan’s defense needs. Despite the speculation surrounding these interactions, Ambassador Perdue told CNBC on Friday that there has been no change in US policy toward Taiwan, including regarding arms sales.
