Trump asked Xi whether China wanted to buy American weapons, ambassador says, as State Department and White House contradict the claim
Ambassador David Perdue’s disclosure of the alleged offer to a president whose military threatens Taiwan was swiftly walked back by US officials who said no such plan exists.
US Ambassador to China David Perdue told Fox News on Sunday that President Trump asked Chinese President Xi Jinping whether China would like to buy American weapons during their Washington summit.
The claim was swiftly contradicted. The US State Department said US law prohibits arms sales to China and there is no offer or plan to sell arms. The White House told the New York Times the US had no plans to sell arms to China. Whether Trump made a serious offer remains disputed, with Perdue’s account and the official pushback saying opposite things.
“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.
Taiwan and the stalled arms package
The disclosure came amid deep uncertainty over Taiwan policy. Xi urged Trump to formally oppose Taiwan independence during the summit, according to a readout from the official Chinese news agency Xinhua. A proposed $14bn US arms package for Taiwan has been on hold for months, and Trump previously described it as a “very good negotiating chip” in dealings with Beijing. Taiwanese deputy foreign minister Chen Ming-chi told reporters in Taipei of the severe military threat China poses. “Taiwan faces a severe situation in the Taiwan strait,” Chen said. “Even though China’s economy is declining, it continues investing more resources into building military capacity. Under this context, the US very much understands our defence needs.” Trump himself offered little detail after the summit. “We didn’t talk about it too much,” he told reporters. “Right now, it’s fine. It’s just moving along.”
Perdue told CNBC on Friday there had been no change in Taiwan policy by Trump, including on arms sales. Trump said Saturday that Xi understands his position on Taiwan. After a previous meeting in May, Trump revealed Xi asked him if the US would defend Taiwan in the event of a Chinese attack.
A puzzling pitch
The alleged offer sits oddly against China’s own arms trade profile. China is a net exporter of weapons, and most of the arms it imports come from Russia, though the volume is falling. China’s arms imports fell by 72% between 2021 and 2025 compared with the previous five years, according to data from the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute.
What the summit produced
The summit produced no joint statements and few major breakthroughs, with both governments issuing separate accounts. According to the Trump administration, the trade truce between the US and China has been extended until 10 January. China secured lower tariffs on $30bn of goods entering the US, with reciprocal reductions expected from Beijing. The US and China agreed to launch a new AI dialogue, with further talks scheduled for the end of November, and to establish a communication channel for AI-related incidents. The Trump administration also said Beijing committed to buy at least 10 million metric tons of coal annually in 2027 and 2028.
Sources & methods
- BBC News — reporting on the Trump-Xi Washington summit outcomes, Taiwan, and the weapons-offer claim Archived Sep 28, 2026
- The Guardian — reporting on Perdue's Fox News interview, the State Department and White House contradictions, Taiwan arms package, and SIPRI arms-trade data Archived Sep 28, 2026
This article draws on three published reports, one from BBC News and two from The Guardian, corroborating Ambassador Perdue’s Fox News interview, the State Department and White House contradictions, Taiwan policy details, and summit outcomes. Single-source facts, including summit outcomes and the SIPRI arms-imports figure, are attributed accordingly.
