Trump Asked Xi About Buying U.S. Arms: What It Means for Taiwan
President Donald Trump asked Chinese President Xi Jinping whether China would like to buy American arms during their meeting in Washington last week. U.S. Ambassador to China David Perdue described the exchange on Fox News Sunday. He said Trump told Xi the United States sells arms to other countries and asked if he would like to buy some. The remark was reported on Sept. 28. The Guardian
Perdue then clarified that policy had not shifted. He told CNBC on Friday there had been no change in Trump's Taiwan policy, including on arms sales. In a separate interview, Perdue said Trump "is as strong on Taiwan as I've ever seen anybody" and has sold Taiwan plenty of weapons. The Guardian Beaumont Enterprise
Washington issued denials. The White House told The New York Times the U.S. had no plans to sell arms to China. The State Department said U.S. law prohibits arms sales to China and that there is no offer or plan to sell arms to China. The Guardian
No formal offer was made. No transaction was described.
Taiwan has waited for months for Trump to approve a $14 billion arms sales package. At a meeting with Xi in Beijing in May, Trump said he was keeping that package on hold — using the term abeyance, meaning a temporary pause — as a "very good negotiating chip" with China, or leverage in talks. The Guardian
Before the Washington meeting, Xi was expected to press Trump to halt Taiwan arms sales under the 1982 agreement. That is the joint communique in which Washington addressed the question of future arms sales to Taipei, Taiwan's capital. During the Washington meeting itself, Xi urged Trump to oppose "Taiwan independence," according to a readout from Xinhua, China's state news agency. On Saturday, Trump said Xi understands his position on Taiwan. Reuters The Guardian
After the Trump-Xi meeting, an official in Taipei said arming Taiwan is an important U.S. interest. Reuters
Perdue, a former senator, was confirmed as Trump's top diplomat to China after a Senate vote in April. Trump met with Perdue ahead of a planned Trump-Xi summit that month. Tensions were already high then, and Chinese officials dismissed reports that China supplied Iran with weapons as "completely made up." During the Beijing talks in May, Trump said Xi agreed to buy 200 Boeing jets. Fox News Fox News Fox News
The broader context here is the tension between deal-making language and deterrence policy, the effort to discourage attack by keeping Taiwan armed. For specialists, the question is not whether Washington will arm Beijing. U.S. statute and stated policy rule that out, and both the White House and State Department said so directly. The question is how Taipei, Beijing and U.S. partners price the $14 billion package while it sits unapproved.
In my view, Perdue's two statements have to be read together. The first describes what Trump floated in the room. The second tries to remove doubt about policy. That gap is where uncertainty builds. Taiwan's leaders will look to delivery timelines, not reassurances. Beijing will look for leverage in the 1982 framework and in Xi's call to oppose independence. And allies will note the use of arms transfers as a stated negotiating instrument, wording that invites each side to test how firm the commitment remains.
Looking ahead to the next round, watch whether the $14 billion package moves, stalls, or gets repackaged. Movement would steady Taipei and likely sharpen Beijing's response. Continued delay would extend the period in which a single remark can move expectations. The public record now pairs a presidential question about selling arms to China with an official denial of any plan to do so, leaving the Taiwan file as the active negotiation.
