Trump Asked Xi About Arms
A U.S. ambassador said Trump asked Xi Jinping whether China wanted to buy American weapons.
What happened
U.S. Ambassador to China David Perdue said Donald Trump asked Chinese President Xi Jinping whether China would like to buy American weapons. Perdue said Trump made the remark while arguing that the United States sells arms to countries around the world. The comments followed Xi’s Washington visit last week, where he and Trump discussed U.S.-China ties, including Taiwan. The issue behind the exchange is U.S. arms sales to Taiwan, which Trump officials have left pending and partly paused during talks with Beijing. China opposes those sales, and Chinese state media said Xi urged Trump to oppose “Taiwan independence.” The White House and State Department said no China arms sale is planned, and State said U.S. law forbids one. Perdue said Trump remains committed to Taiwan and later added that U.S. policy had not changed.
From the left
Left-leaning stories framed the exchange as a potential rupture in China policy, with Taiwan as the test. The New York Times called the idea of selling weapons to China “extraordinary”. The Guardian lingered on doubts about Trump’s commitment to protecting Taiwan. The New York Times also emphasized the administration’s denial and legal bar.
From the right
Only one right-leaning outlet we track covered this: New York Post, under the headline “Trump asked China’s Xi Jinping if he’d ‘like to buy’ American weapons, US ambassador reveals”.
Trump asked Xi Jinping if China would like to buy US weapons, American ambassador says
Trump asked China’s president if he wants to buy US arms, ambassador says
U.S. Says No Plans to Sell Weapons to China After Perdue Comments