President Donald Trump poured cold water on a remarkable account from his own ambassador to China, saying he never discussed selling American weapons to Chinese President Xi Jinping and suggesting the envoy had confused China with Taiwan.
U.S. Ambassador David Perdue made the claim Sunday on Fox News Sunday while defending the administration’s approach to arms sales to Taiwan. Perdue said Trump had explained to Xi that the United States sells arms around the world, then added: “He actually asked President Xi, would he like to buy some, at one point.” Perdue did not say when the purported exchange happened or describe Xi’s response.
Trump appeared caught off guard when a reporter raised the account at the White House on Monday.
“To China? You mean to Taiwan?” the president asked. After the reporter clarified, Trump replied, “I never heard of that one. I’m going to have to ask him.”
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Trump said China would probably want American equipment because, in his view, the United States makes better weapons. He briefly mused that selling them might be a good idea, but then rejected Perdue’s account: “We didn’t discuss that.” He suggested Perdue had been referring to Taiwan.
State Department Draws a Hard Line
The public contradiction followed a blunt response from the State Department. “U.S. law prohibits arms sales to China and there is no offer or plan to sell arms to China,” the department said in a statement to ABC News. A U.S. official separately told the outlet the government had no plans for such a sale.
Federal defense export rules list China among countries subject to a policy of denying approvals for defense articles and services. That makes Perdue’s account striking even as Trump insists the conversation never occurred.
Perdue’s comment arose from a different, long-running dispute: U.S. weapons sales to Taiwan, the self-governing island China claims as its territory. Fox host Shannon Bream pressed the ambassador about concerns that arms deliveries or approvals for Taiwan had been delayed to avoid angering Beijing. Perdue rejected the suggestion that Trump was abandoning Taiwan, saying the president remained strong on its defense and that the two leaders had discussed future arms sales to the island.
The White House’s summary of Xi’s state visit described talks on trade, Iran, strategic stability and trilateral arms control. It did not announce any proposed sale of American weapons to China.
For now, the ambassador’s account and the president’s account remain at odds. Trump said he would ask Perdue about the remark. Neither man has publicly explained what Perdue was referring to, while the State Department says an arms offer to China is off the table.
