The Trump administration wants to be clear about something: it is not selling weapons to China. Not now, not soon, and technically not ever, because it's already against the law.

The clarification came after U.S. Ambassador to China David Perdue said President Donald Trump asked Chinese President Xi Jinping whether Beijing would be interested in buying U.S. arms. Officials told The Wall Street Journal on Sunday that no offers or plans have been made to Beijing, and that existing legal restrictions already bar such sales.

Trump Defends Taiwan Arms Sale to Xi

Perdue made the remark during an appearance with Shannon Bream on "Fox News Sunday." He said Trump defended a pending U.S. arms sale to Taiwan in his discussions with Xi by portraying it as one of many arms deals Washington conducts around the world. According to Perdue, Trump even jokingly asked whether Xi might be interested in buying U.S. weapons.

Perdue didn't offer details about the supposed offer or say when it was made. He did say U.S. policy toward Taiwan remains unchanged, with Washington opposing both Taiwanese independence and coercion, despite continued Chinese military pressure on the island.

Taiwan Urges Faster US Arms Deliveries

U.S. arms sales have long propped up Taiwan's defense and served as a deterrent to China. Washington announced more than $11 billion in potential weapons sales to Taiwan in December, but Trump has yet to advance a separate $14 billion security funding package. That has prompted four Senate Republicans to urge the administration to move it forward ahead of his summit with Xi Jinping.

Perdue pushed back on criticism that Trump wasn't doing enough for Taiwan, pointing to what he described as a 50% increase in U.S. arms sales to Taiwan compared with any president since 1979. The U.S. intelligence agencies' annual assessment in March found that China does not plan to invade Taiwan in 2027 and has no fixed reunification timeline.

Meanwhile, Taiwan is urging the Trump administration to expedite a delayed weapons package, arguing that military strength is essential to deterring potential Chinese aggression. Taiwan representative Alexander Yui, in an interview with CBS News Face the Nation, said Trump and Xi gave limited public attention to Taiwan during their Washington summit, and that Taiwan wasn't mentioned in the statements released by either the U.S. or China after the meeting.

Disclaimer: This content was partially produced with the help of AI tools and was reviewed and published by MarketDash editors.