Trump asked China’s President if he wants to buy U.S. arms, Ambassador says

President Donald Trump has justified the pending U.S. arms sale to Taiwan to Chinese President Xi Jinping by downplaying it as just one of many sales Washington makes around the world — even asking Mr. Xi if he’d be in the market for U.S. arms, Mr. Trump’s Ambassador to China said on Sunday (September 27, 2026).

David Perdue said Mr. Trump raised the prospect of the arms sales from the U.S. to its ascendant geopolitical rival, an unlikely offer that, if consummated, would upend generations of U.S. policy toward China and Taiwan and potentially expose U.S. technology to a potential foe. Mr. Perdue, speaking to Shannon Bream on “Fox News Sunday” days after Mr. Trump hosted Mr. Xi for a state visit in Washington, didn’t specify when the offer was made.

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Ms. Bream had cited concerns from Republican and Democratic lawmakers over delayed aid packages and weapons orders to Taiwan, the self-ruled democracy, to defend itself from China’s threat to invade the island. Ms. Bream asked if the U.S. is denying Taiwan to appease the Chinese president, who visited Mr. Trump last week.

Mr. Perdue pushed back on the suggestion, stating that Mr. Trump “is as strong on Taiwan as I’ve ever seen anybody” and has sold it plenty of weapons. Mr. Perdue also said Mr. Trump and Mr. Xi continue to talk about future U.S. weapons sales to Taiwan.

“But President Trump continues to say, Hey, we sell arms to other people around the world,’” Mr. Perdue said. “He actually asked President Xi, would he like to buy some, at one point.”

The U.S. is bound by its own laws to provide Taiwan with the means to defend itself. While not recognising Taiwan as a country, the U.S. is the island’s strongest informal backer and arms provider. But multiple U.S. leaders have left it ambiguous whether they would commit military force to defend the U.S. ally should China invade.

China has pressed Washington to halt the arms sales, most prominently during a previous summit in May between Mr. Trump and Mr. Xi in Beijing. After that meeting, the United States paused the sale of a record-breaking $14 billion package — and Mr. Trump described arms sales to Taiwan as a “very good negotiating chip” with China.

In their private talks at the White House last week, Mr. Xi pressed Mr. Trump to oppose Taiwan independence, according to Chinese state media.