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U.S. President Donald Trump on Monday denied that he asked Chinese President Xi Jinping whether Beijing wanted to buy American weapons, countering remarks by his own ambassador to China.
U.S. Ambassador to China David Perdue told Fox News on Sunday that Trump had made the offer during Xi’s state visit to the White House last week, in response to Chinese concerns over U.S. weapons sales to Taiwan.
“I’ve never heard of that one,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office when asked about Perdue’s comments. “I’m going to have to ask him.”
“They’d probably like to buy it because we do make better equipment than them, so maybe it’s a good idea,” Trump added. “But we didn’t discuss it.”
Perdue had said Trump frequently tells foreign leaders that Washington sells defense equipment globally and asked Xi “at one point” whether China would like to purchase American arms.
“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. President Trump and President Xi talk about that every time they get together,” Perdue added, while saying the U.S. position had not changed.
A U.S. official told AFP earlier that “the U.S. government has no plans to sell weapons to China” when asked about Perdue’s remarks.
A State Department official also told the South China Morning Post that federal law prohibits defense sales to China and that Washington has no plans or offers to supply weapons to Beijing.
The State Department later told The New York Times that “U.S. law prohibits arms sales to China and there is no offer or plan to sell arms to China.”
U.S. arms sales to Taiwan, a self-ruled island that China claims as part of its territory and has threatened to seize by force, have long been a source of tension between Washington and Beijing.
The United States is required by law to provide Taiwan, which has a democratically elected president and legislature, with the means to defend itself.
Trump said Perdue “may have been talking about Taiwan” when making the comments.
The United States previously sold military equipment to China during closer U.S.-China strategic cooperation against the Soviet Union in the 1980s, including AN/TPQ-37 counter-artillery radars and Mark 46 torpedoes.
The Chinese Foreign Ministry did not directly answer when asked about Perdue’s comments Monday.
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, declining to say directly whether the United States 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 described as “more arms to Taiwan than any other president since 1979.”
The United States paused a $14 billion weapons purchase by Taiwan in May, with Trump calling it a “very good negotiating chip” in dealings with China, raising concerns that Taiwan’s security could be affected by broader U.S.-China negotiations.
During his Washington trip, Xi repeated his warning that Trump should show “prudence” over Taiwan and urged the United States to explicitly oppose Taiwan independence.
Trump has declined to say whether he discussed Taiwan with Xi during the visit, instead stressing what he describes as a good relationship with the Chinese leader as the two countries seek to manage tensions.
The two leaders have met twice this year, with Trump traveling to Beijing in May.
They have confirmed plans to meet again at the APEC summit in Shenzhen, China, in November and at the G20 forum at Trump’s Doral resort in Miami in December.
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