Trump Denies Offering Arms to China Amid Taiwan Package Delay

President Donald Trump denied reports that he offered to sell American military hardware to Chinese President Xi Jinping during Xi's three-day state visit to Washington ending September 25. The controversy began when U.S. Ambassador to China David Perdue claimed in a Fox News interview that Trump asked Xi if China would like to purchase U.S. weapons, framing the offer as routine global commerce. The U.S. Department of State and other administration officials rebuked the claim, stating that U.S. law prohibits arms sales to China and no such plans exist.

While Trump denied the specific offer, he noted that selling to China might be a "good idea" because U.S. equipment is superior. This dispute coincides with a stalled $14 billion arms package for Taiwan, which Trump has described as a "very good negotiating chip" in dealings with Beijing. The package, paused after a May summit in Beijing, includes PAC-3 MSE interceptors and NASAMS air-defence systems.

Taiwan's Defense Minister Wellington Koo stated that Taipei remains in continuous discussions with the U.S. and has received assurances that U.S. policy toward the island remains unchanged. Koo noted that while the $14 billion package is stalled, 66 F-16V fighter jets are ready for delivery following pandemic-era production delays. U.S. officials, including Ambassador Mike Waltz, attributed these delivery delays to a backlog in the American defense industrial base rather than political maneuvering.