Trump Asked Xi About Buying U.S. Arms: Taiwan, Embargoes and What Comes Next
U.S. Ambassador to China David Perdue said President Donald Trump asked Chinese President Xi Jinping if Beijing would like to buy American weapons.
Perdue described the exchange during a Fox News Sunday interview with host Shannon Bream about U.S. policy on Taiwan independence. The Daily Beast
According to Perdue, Trump asked the question directly. Perdue quoted Trump as saying "President Trump asked President Xi if he would like to buy some arms" and added that Trump says "we sell arms to other people around the world."
Such a sale would conflict with current U.S. restrictions. U.S. law bans the export of defense articles and defense services — the legal term for weapons and military assistance — to China. The United States and European countries also placed arms embargoes, or formal bans on weapons sales, on China after the 1989 Tiananmen Square crackdown. Those bans remain in effect.
The comments came at the end of high-level meetings in Washington. Trump held candid talks with Xi at the White House. Perdue defended Trump on Friday as Trump wrapped up a state visit with Xi. The Hill In a separate appearance, Perdue said Trump told Xi that Chinese help for Iran is unacceptable. Reuters
The Fox News Sunday exchange focused on U.S. arms policy toward Taiwan. The United States last approved $11 billion in arms sales to Taiwan in December 2025. A separate $14 billion package, which includes advanced interceptor missiles built to shoot down incoming missiles, has waited for Trump's approval for several months. Reuters Trump has called that package a "very good negotiating chip" in talks with China.
Xi arrived in Washington for the September 2026 visit expected to press Trump to stop Taiwan arms sales entirely. Four U.S. Republicans called in September 2026 for Trump to release Taiwan security funds. After the Trump-Xi meeting, an official in Taipei said arming Taiwan is an important U.S. interest. Reuters
Perdue, a former U.S. senator from Georgia confirmed as ambassador on April 29, 2025, did not say publicly how Xi responded or what types of weapons were mentioned. The White House has not described any follow-up process for the offer.
The broader context here is a negotiating approach that connects issues Washington has usually handled separately. Arms sales to Taiwan follow a different political and legal framework than the ban on sales to Beijing. Raising U.S. sales to Beijing in the same conversation raises questions about leverage. Taipei will read any delay in its own package for signs of intent. Beijing will read any offer for signs of flexibility. Critics in Congress who oppose delay will read both for signs of commitment.
Looking at what this means for diplomacy, the timing matters. The warning on Iran, the delay in the Taiwan package, and the arms remark to Xi all appeared within days around the state visit. For diplomats, that grouping points to linked bargaining rather than separate messages. Whether Beijing treats the arms remark as a serious opening, a tactical probe, or rhetoric will shape the next exchange. So will whether Taipei obtains the pending funds. The legal barrier to any sale to China is clear. The diplomatic cost of pursuing one would be tested first in Washington, then in Taipei, then in European capitals bound by their own embargoes.
