Debate Ignites Over Possible U.S. Weapons Sale to China After Ambassador’s Remark

U.S. ambassador to China David Perdue told reporters that President Donald Trump had asked Chinese President Xi Jinping whether he would “like to buy some” weapons. The president later denied making such an offer, saying he had never heard of the comment and would need to ask Perdue about it. The remark has prompted a surge of discussion in Washington about whether the United States could or would alter its long-standing prohibition on arms sales to Beijing.

The Hill

Arms sales to China are currently illegal under U.S. law. The State Department has clarified that there is no offer or plan to sell weapons to China. Analysts note that while high-end systems such as PAC-3 interceptors or Tomahawk missiles are unlikely to be offered, lower-end items could be conceivable, echoing past 1980s sales of Blackhawk helicopters that later influenced China’s Z-20 utility helicopter.

The Hill

President Trump said the comment might have referred to Taiwan and emphasized that the United States has not changed its “one China” policy. The administration confirmed that a $14 billion arms package for Taiwan remains stalled, citing broader defense priorities and the ongoing war in Ukraine. Secretary of State Marco Rubio noted that U.S. arms sales to Taiwan are limited by overall defense needs and industrial capacity.

The Hill

Security experts expressed skepticism. Craig Singleton described the remark as a window into Trump’s “highly transactional approach,” blurring the line between allies and adversaries. Lyle Goldstein suggested the proposal could be an attempt to lower mutual suspicion and reduce the trade deficit by selling older weaponry, but acknowledged strong opposition from the national-security establishment. Former officials such as Andrew Harding dismissed the idea as a “nothing burger,” arguing that a serious proposal would have surfaced in official summit discussions.

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• “It would require overcoming existing legal restrictions, raise obvious concerns about transferring sensitive U.S. military technology to America’s principal strategic competitor and scramble longstanding assumptions about U.S. security policy in the Indo-Pacific,” — Craig Singleton, senior fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies (FDD)

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• “So maybe it’s a good idea. But we didn’t discuss it.” — President Trump, saying president

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• “Washington should be focused on supporting their efforts instead.” — President Trump, saying president

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• “I think the national security establishment would strongly oppose that approach, but Trump has questioned many orthodoxies in Washington,” — Lyle Goldstein, the director of the Asia Program at Defense Priorities

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