Trump raised US arms sales with Xi during Beijing summit

Perdue said Trump had asked Xi whether Beijing might be interested in buying US-made weapons, although the ambassador did not disclose how the Chinese leader responded. The remarks were made during a Fox News interview as Perdue defended the administration’s broader approach to arms sales.

Trump and Xi held a high-level meeting at the White House on Thursday before meeting again privately the following day. Xi also reviewed historical photographs and documents in Washington before ending his three-day state visit and returning to China.

Beijing stresses its military policy

China described Xi’s visit as successful and repeated its position that the country’s military development is driven by its own security requirements. Foreign Ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun told reporters in Beijing that China is “dedicated to safeguarding world peace and stability.”

A US State Department official later told the South China Morning Post that American law bars Washington from selling weapons to China. The official also said there was currently “no offer or plan” for arms sales to Beijing.

Taiwan remains central to US-China tensions

Perdue made his comments while explaining Washington’s continued military support for Taiwan. He said the Trump administration’s position remains based on the one-China policy, the Taiwan Relations Act, three US-China communiques and the Six Assurances.

“We don’t support independence and we don’t support coercion,” Perdue said. He also stated that Trump had approved an $11 billion arms package for Taiwan and authorized more arms transfers than any US president since 1979.

Beijing regards Taiwan as part of China and has consistently objected to US weapons deliveries to the island, making arms sales a recurring source of tension between Washington and Beijing.

US-China arms ties have Cold War roots

Washington and Beijing have a history of military cooperation dating back to the 1980s, when the two countries worked more closely against the Soviet Union. During that period, the United States supplied China with equipment including AN/TPQ-37 counter-artillery radar systems and Mark-46 torpedoes.

Government-to-government US arms sales to China later came to an end. According to the US Government Accountability Office, no new Foreign Military Sales agreements with Beijing were initiated after 1990.