US rules out China arms sale after ambassador’s Trump-Xi remark

The United States has no offer or plan to sell weapons to China, the State Department said after US ambassador David Perdue described a question President Donald Trump had put to Chinese leader Xi Jinping. Perdue said on television that Trump had asked whether Xi would like to buy American arms. He did not specify when this happened, why the question was raised or how Xi responded.

The State Department said US law prohibits arms sales to China. Its clarification draws a clear line between the ambassador's account of a conversation and any actual change in policy. Neither the remarks nor the subsequent statement establishes that a sale was formally proposed.

The exchange attracted attention because Washington's defence relationship with Taiwan remains deeply contested by Beijing. Taiwan has awaited a further US arms package, while China opposes American weapons transfers to the island. The reported remark should therefore be understood in the context of a sensitive security dispute, with the administration's stated position that no sale to China is planned.