President Donald Trump offered Chinese President Xi Jinping the chance to buy U.S. weapons, according to David Perdue, the U.S. ambassador to China. Responding to China’s objections over U.S. arms sales to Taiwan, Perdue said Trump at one point directly asked Xi whether China was interested in buying weapons from the United States.
Perdue made the comments Sunday on Fox News Sunday. He did not say exactly when Trump made the proposal to Xi. His remarks came just days after a high-level meeting between Trump and Xi in Washington, where the old dispute over U.S. arms supplies to Taiwan returned to discussion.
U.S. arms sales to Taiwan have long been a point of objection for China. Beijing views Taiwan as part of its own territory and opposes military ties and arms sales to the island. The United States does not formally recognize Taiwan as an independent state, but it has continued supplying weapons to strengthen the island’s ability to defend itself. U.S. law also requires Washington to provide Taiwan with defensive equipment.
Perdue said Trump’s argument, in response to China’s objections over arms sales to Taiwan, was that the United States sells weapons to countries around the world. In that context, the ambassador said, Trump asked Xi about the possibility of buying weapons. Perdue did not provide information on how China responded to the proposal.
The comments drew special attention because they came only days after the Trump-Xi meeting. During Xi’s state visit to Washington from Sept. 23 to Sept. 25, the two leaders discussed trade, military communication, artificial intelligence and other bilateral issues. The White House described the meeting as positive and productive. But separate Chinese and U.S. statements after the meeting did not mention any major resolution of fundamental disputes, including Taiwan.
Beijing’s position on Taiwan was also clear during the meeting. In private talks in Washington, Xi urged Trump to oppose Taiwan independence. For China, Taiwan is not only a military or diplomatic issue; Beijing sees it as directly tied to sovereignty and national unity.
In Washington, meanwhile, U.S. defense ties with Taiwan remain politically debated. In recent times, U.S. lawmakers have raised questions about delays in arms orders and assistance for Taiwan. Perdue rejected those concerns, saying Trump has taken a sufficiently firm position toward Taiwan and that discussions on future arms sales are continuing.
Earlier, AP reported that after a May meeting between Trump and Xi, the United States paused the sale of an arms package worth about $14 billion. Trump then described arms sales to Taiwan as a “bargaining tool” in talks with China. As a result, arms supplies to Taiwan have become not only a matter of defense cooperation but also part of U.S.-China diplomatic bargaining.
The Trump-Xi meeting also produced progress on strengthening military communication. China and the United States agreed to prepare a memorandum of understanding to strengthen communication systems for crisis management between their militaries. They also decided to create a communication mechanism on risks and incidents related to artificial intelligence.
Still, the United States and China remain divided on the basic question of arms sales. The United States emphasizes maintaining Taiwan’s self-defense capability. China wants Washington to stop selling weapons to Taiwan and oppose any move toward Taiwan independence. If Trump did tell Xi to buy U.S. weapons, there is still no public information that it has turned into any actual arms-sale agreement.
U.S. administration officials later clarified that the United States has no plan to sell weapons to China. Perdue’s comment is therefore being viewed for now as a negotiating remark, not an announcement of a formal policy shift on U.S. arms sales to China.
The significance of Trump’s remark lies mainly in showing the complexity of U.S.-China relations over Taiwan and the use of arms trade as part of diplomatic bargaining. Even as the two countries seek paths for cooperation on trade and military communication, their differences remain on Taiwan and other security and strategic questions.
বাংলায় মূল প্রতিবেদন পড়ুন · Read the original Bengali report