[Trump Questions Beijing on Buying US Weapons — Is It a Strategic Test or Diplomatic Risk?] Donald Trump asked President Xi Jinping whether Beijing desired to purchase American weapons, the U.S. ambassador to China announced on Sunday, causing the State Department to dismiss any such agreement almost instantly as too risky given Washington’s chief strategic rival.
A State Department official, speaking on background to the South China Morning Post, said: “US law prohibits arms sales to China and there is no offer or plan to sell arms to China.”
The rapid clarification arose amid heightened scrutiny, especially given the stark inconsistency between reported efforts to arm Beijing and the ongoing postponement of a roughly US $14 billion weapons package slated for Taiwan.