Trump Asked Xi If China Wanted to Buy US Weapons

During a 2019 summit at Mar-a-Lago, former U.S. President Donald Trump asked Chinese President Xi Jinping if China was interested in purchasing American weapons, according to a statement from U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Linda Thomas-Greenfield. This revelation came in the context of a separate report by Axios, which suggested the Biden administration had delayed the sale of a $14 billion arms package to Taiwan to avoid antagonizing Beijing. Thomas-Greenfield explicitly denied this latter claim, stating that the administration has not delayed any arms sales to Taiwan to appease China. The Axios report, citing sources familiar with the matter, indicated that the Biden administration had paused the sale of F-16 fighter jets to Taiwan. However, a State Department spokesperson later clarified to Reuters that the F-16 sale was not delayed and that the administration was committed to supporting Taiwan's self-defense capabilities. The U.S. envoy's statement directly addressed the Axios report's premise, asserting that the U.S. has not held back arms sales to Taiwan due to concerns about China's reaction. The interaction between Trump and Xi, as described by Thomas-Greenfield, highlights a complex dynamic in U.S.-China relations, particularly concerning military trade and geopolitical sensitivities in the Indo-Pacific region. The sale of arms to Taiwan has been a persistent point of contention between the U.S. and China, with Beijing viewing such sales as interference in its internal affairs and a violation of its sovereignty. The U.S., under both Republican and Democratic administrations, has maintained a policy of supporting Taiwan's defense through arms sales, as mandated by the Taiwan Relations Act. The timing of the Axios report and the subsequent clarifications from the State Department and Ambassador Thomas-Greenfield underscore the ongoing scrutiny of U.S. foreign policy decisions regarding China and Taiwan. The U.S. envoy's direct refutation of the delay in arms sales aims to reassure allies and counter any perception of wavering commitment to Taiwan's security. The alleged inquiry by Trump about China's interest in buying U.S. weapons, if accurate, would represent a unique and potentially controversial approach to managing bilateral relations and trade imbalances.