US President Donald Trump asked Chinese President Xi Jinping during a meeting whether the Chinese leader would like to purchase American weaponry. The claim was made by US Ambassador to China David Perdue, citing a translated interview with Fox News, according to infohub.kz.
According to Perdue, the exchange took place amid Beijing's concerns over arms supplies to Taiwan by the White House.
"President Trump keeps saying, 'Listen, we sell weapons to other countries all over the world.' At one point he even asked Chairman Xi if he would like to buy something," the ambassador said, according to DW.
Shortly after Perdue's interview, the US presidential administration stated that Washington has no plans to sell weapons to China, and the State Department emphasized that such deliveries are prohibited by law.
Taiwan is a partially recognized democratic state that Chinese authorities consider part of the PRC and seek to fully subjugate the island, using military force if necessary. At the same time, US legislation obligates the White House to supply Taiwan with the weapons it needs for defense.