President Donald Trump pitched an unconventional business proposition directly to Chinese leader Xi Jinping when he visited the White House last week: an invitation to purchase American military hardware.
The revelation came to light during a television interview on Sunday, courtesy of US Ambassador to China David Perdue.
‘President Trump continues to say, “Hey, we sell arms to other people around the world.” He actually asked President Xi… would he like to buy some at one point,’ Perdue said on Fox News, without revealing any more details about the results of their conversation.
President Trump told reporters in the oval office today that Perdue was confusing Taiwan and China during his interview.
‘To China? You mean to Taiwan? I never heard of that…. No, the they probably like to buy it because we do make better equipment than that. Maybe it’s a good idea. But we didn’t discuss.’
Current law ‘prohibits arms sales to China,’ a State Department official told the Daily Mail.
In addition, a US official added there is no plan to sell any weapons to China, despite the ambassador’s shocking admission.
Perdue was also asked during the interview if there are concerns about the weapon and military aid for Taiwan that has been held up.
The US ambassador to China responded by saying that President Trump had greenlit $11 billion in arms sales to Taiwan last year and that there were ongoing conversations about other potential purchases.
‘He and President Xi talk about that every time they get together,’ Perdue told the Fox News host, adding that Trump argued that the US sells arms to other countries globally.
The notion of the White House dangling high-tech American weaponry before Beijing is nothing short of a seismic break with modern foreign policy.