Trump Offered US Arms to China's Xi    09/28 06:20

   President Donald Trump has justified the pending U.S. arms sale to Taiwan to 
Chinese President Xi Jinping by downplaying it as just one of many sales 
Washington makes around the world -- even asking Xi if he'd be in the market 
for U.S. arms, Trump's ambassador to China said on Sunday.

   WASHINGTON (AP) -- President https://apnews.com/hub/donald-trump has 
justified the pending U.S. arms sale to Taiwan to Chinese President 
https://apnews.com/hub/xi-jinping by downplaying it as just one of many sales 
Washington makes around the world -- even asking Xi if he'd be in the market 
for U.S. arms, Trump's ambassador to China said on Sunday.

   David Perdue said Trump raised the prospect of the arms sales from the U.S. 
to its ascendant geopolitical rival, an unlikely offer that if consummated 
would upend generations of U.S. policy toward China and Taiwan and potentially 
expose U.S. technology to a potential foe. Perdue, speaking to Shannon Bream on 
"Fox News Sunday" days after 
https://apnews.com/article/trump-xi-visit-china-trade-ai-takeaways-f7b4922c12abc
a2bab7262019566c08c for a state visit in Washington, didn't specify when the 
offer was made.

   Bream had cited concerns from Republican and Democratic lawmakers over 
delayed aid packages and 
https://apnews.com/article/taiwan-trump-arms-sales-china-eab716f67fe5aa36ec05ff8
209d0f605, the self-ruled democracy, to defend itself from China's threat to 
invade the island. Bream asked if the U.S. is denying arms to Taiwan to appease 
the Chinese president, who 
https://apnews.com/article/trump-xi-china-national-archives-34fec8bee4b4f2b0f224
3516629fe71d last week.

   Perdue pushed back on the suggestion, stating that Trump "is as strong on 
Taiwan as I've ever seen anybody" and has sold it plenty of weapons. Perdue 
also said Trump and Xi continue to talk about future U.S. weapons sales to 
Taiwan.

   "But President Trump continues to say, 'Hey, we sell arms to other people 
around the world,'" Perdue said. "He actually asked President Xi, would he like 
to buy some, at one point."

   The U.S. is bound by its own laws to provide Taiwan with the means to defend 
itself. While not recognizing Taiwan as a country, the U.S. is the island's 
strongest informal backer and arms provider. But multiple U.S. leaders have 
left ambiguous whether they would commit military force to defend the U.S. ally 
should China invade.

   China has 
https://apnews.com/article/trump-xi-taiwan-iran-trade-e7a3cdf161c608de152ac1c6e5
755452, most prominently during a previous summit in May between Trump and Xi 
in Beijing. After that meeting, the United States paused the sale of a 
record-breaking $14 billion package -- and Trump described arms sales to Taiwan 
as a 
https://apnews.com/article/taiwan-trump-arms-68eaac52b871e556aa6bd0509b101a90 
with China.

   In their private talks at the White House last week, Xi 
https://apnews.com/article/trump-xi-china-state-visit-e21305f04e21bae2c083282a8b
fc8321 to oppose Taiwan independence, according to Chinese state media.

   In Beijing, China's foreign ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun did not confirm 
Perdue's remarks when asked about the matter on Monday. But he told reporters 
that China has always strengthened its national defense capabilities based on 
its needs, and is committed to maintaining world peace and stability.