Controversy Arises Over Trump's Proposal for U.S. Weapon Sales to Xi Jinping Amid Security Concerns

Controversy has arisen following reports that U.S. President Donald Trump proposed to Chinese President Xi Jinping during a summit that China purchase U.S.-made weapons.

During an interview with Fox News on September 27 (local time), U.S. Ambassador to China David Perdue said, "President Trump keeps saying, 'Don't we sell weapons to other countries around the world?' The president actually asked President Xi, 'At some point, won't you buy some of our weapons too?'"

Ambassador Perdue's remarks came in response to a question asking whether President Trump had withheld the approval of a $14 billion (approx. 19 trillion won) arms sale to Taiwan to avoid spoiling the summit.

It is highly unusual for a high-ranking U.S. official who attended the U.S.-China summit to confirm that the U.S. president proposed selling American weapons to China, a nation locked in a hegemony competition across all fronts including military power, diplomacy, and the economy.

Current U.S. law bans the sale of U.S. weapons to China.

Ambassador Perdue did not elaborate further on additional details regarding the weapons purchase proposal or President Xi's response.

Foreign affairs and national security experts expressed concern after Ambassador Perdue's interview became known.

Ryan Hass, Director of the John L. Thornton China Center at the U.S. think tank Brookings Institution, posted on social media X, saying sarcastically, "If there was any ambiguity about whether President Trump views China as a security threat, Ambassador Perdue's comments have cleared that up."

He added, "President Trump offering to sell weapons to China will cause anxiety among U.S. partner countries that find themselves at the tip of China's spear."

Zack Cooper, a senior fellow at the conservative think tank American Enterprise Institute (AEI), told the British newspaper Financial Times, "President Trump's proposal to sell weapons to China is insane," adding, "President Xi must have wanted to say, 'I'd like to buy one of everything.'"

He further noted, "It is shocking that he delayed the approval of weapon sales to Taiwan while proposing to sell weapons to China."

The New York Times (NYT) reported that a White House official, responding to a request for comment on Ambassador Perdue's remarks, stated that the U.S. has no plans to sell weapons to China.

The U.S. State Department also stated in a statement sent to the NYT, "U.S. law prohibits the sale of weapons to China," and added, "There are no proposals or plans regarding arms sales to China."

(Photo: AP, Yonhap News)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.