US officials deny there are plans to sell weapons to China
The U.S. ambassador to China said Trump offered to sell arms to China.
Trump administration officials said on Monday that the United States has no plans to sell weapons to China after U.S. Ambassador to China David Perdue indicated during a televised interview that President Donald Trump offered a weapons deal to China's Xi Jinping during a high-profile summit last week.
"President Trump continues to say, 'Hey, we sell arms to other people around the world,'" Perdue said Sunday during an appearance on Fox News. "He actually asked President Xi would he like to buy some at one point."
Perdue did not provide further details about the offer, and he did not reveal Xi's response.
A U.S. official denied there were plans to sell weapons to China.
"The U.S. government has no plans to sell weapons to China," the official said to ABC News on Monday.
The State Department also denied a potential sale, saying in a statement to ABC News that "U.S. law prohibits arms sales to China and there is no offer or plan to sell arms to China."
Asked about Perdue's comments in the Oval Office on Monday, Trump said he "didn't discuss it" with Xi, suggesting he meant Taiwan instead of China.
"I never heard of that one. I'm going to have to ask him. You mean we're going to sell? Now they'd probably like to buy it because we do make better equipment than them. So maybe it's a good idea. Yeah, but, we didn't discuss it," Trump said, later adding "I think he probably was talking about Taiwan."
A U.S. weapons sale offer to China would be extraordinary, as China is viewed as the primary strategic and economic competitor of the U.S. and is designated as a foreign adversary. The U.S. has placed extensive economic sanctions on China, includingeconomic restrictions, investment bans and contract limits on companies, groups and schools tied to the Chinese military.
The two geopolitical rivals are also competing in the race to develop advanced artificial intelligence and have opposing views over Taiwanese sovereignty.
And in recent weeks, Beijing has come under scrutiny for allegedly providing another U.S. adversary -- Iran -- with satellite imagery in their ongoing conflict with the U.S. and other regional allies.
Perdue told Fox News that Xi had "assured" Trump during their bilateral meeting last week that they were "looking into" the allegations about supporting Iran with satellite imagery.
The Trump administration notably downplayed taking action against China for allegedly helping Iran despite the United States' stated goal of targeting all countries with financial ties to Iran as part of the U.S. Treasury's offensive "Operation Economic Outcast."
"When they say that China spies on us, I say, 'You’re right, and we spy on them too,' you know? We spy on them too," Trump said earlier this month.
When asked by reporters on Friday if the two leaders had discussed the war in Iran, Trump replied, "We did," adding without providing details: "I think we’re going to do great."
The potential offer to China comes as the Trump administration continues to press pause on a proposed $14 billion arms sale to the island of Taiwan, a de facto independent nation.
China has long claimed the sovereign territory as its own and regularly conducts large-scale military drills, live-fire exercises and daily air and naval patrols to apply pressure on the island. Taiwan relies heavily on U.S. military support to push back on China's encroachments.
Perdue said that the administration was not denying Taiwan access to weapons needed for its defense, asserting: "President Trump is as strong on Taiwan as I've ever seen anybody. He's made it very clear that we have not changed the One China policy."
"President Xi has heard that repeatedly from President Donald Trump. President Trump has already sold 50% more arms to Taiwan than any other president since 1979," Perdue added.
ABC News' Nicholas Kerr contributed to this report.
