Trump says he has not discussed arms sales to China with Xi Jinping, Pang Dewei's remarks spark controversy

(Deutsche Welle Chinese website) US Ambassador to China David Perdue pointed out in an exclusive interview with Fox News on Sunday (September 27) that US President Trump has always told Chinese President Xi Jinping that the United States would sell weapons to all over the world, and even asked Xi Jinping if he was willing to buy US weapons.

However, Trump said on Monday (28th) that he had not discussed selling U.S. weapons to China with Xi Jinping, speculating that Pang Dewei may be referring to Taiwan.

Trump said: "I haven't heard about it. I'll have to ask him (Pang Dewei)... We do make better equipment than they do, so maybe it's a good idea. But we haven't discussed it, and I think he may be talking about Taiwan."

After the special meeting with Xi Jinping came to an end, Pang Dewei accepted an exclusive interview with Fox News on the 27th. When asked about the long-delayed issue of arms sales to Taiwan, Pang Dewei said that Trump once told Xi Jinping that arms sales to Taiwan were only one of the U.S. arms sales to the world; Trump even asked Xi Jinping "if he wanted to buy some too."

In an exclusive interview, Fox News anchor Shannon Bream mentioned that many U.S. lawmakers have written to Secretary of State Rubio and Secretary of Defense Hegseth, expressing high concern about arms sales to Taiwan. The letter mentioned, “If the cost of maintaining a diplomatic posture is to deprive partner countries of key deterrence capabilities, then it is difficult to imagine how the United States can effectively project influence and deterrence in the Indo-Pacific region.”

In this regard, Pang Dewei denied Trump's statement that he "delayed arms sales to Taiwan to appease China." He emphasized in the program that Trump's stance on the Taiwan issue is very firm, and pointed out that "since 1979, President Trump has approved arms sales to Taiwan that are 50% higher than any other president."

Pang Dewei said: "Every time President Trump and President Xi Jinping meet, they will talk about this issue. However, President Trump has always told Xi Jinping that we would sell weapons to all over the world. In fact, he even asked Xi Jinping at one time: Do you want to buy some American weapons too? But the United States' position on this matter has not changed. We do not support Taiwan's independence, nor do we support the use of coercion to deal with Taiwan issues."

Pang Dewei did not specify when Trump's remarks occurred. He also reiterated that the U.S.'s "one-China policy" has not changed and continues to support the Taiwan Relations Act, the three U.S.-China joint communiqués and the six guarantees. "President Xi Jinping has heard these positions directly from President Trump many times."

Is it possible for the United States to sell arms to China?

Any arms sales to Beijing would overturn Washington's years of China policy. The Associated Press report pointed out that this proposal is unlikely to be realized and may expose U.S. military technology to its largest competitors.

The New York Times reported that the U.S. State Department later issued a statement clarifying: "U.S. law prohibits the sale of arms to China, and there are currently no proposals or plans to sell arms to China."

Regardless of whether the Trump administration made a gaffe to defend arms sales to Taiwan, Pang Dewei’s “Trump arms sales to China theory” has caused a shock in public opinion in Washington policy circles.

"Trump's purported proposal to sell arms to China is just crazy. I bet Xi Jinping wanted to say, 'We'll have a piece of everything, thank you.'" Zack Cooper, an Asia security expert at the American Enterprise Institute (AEI), told the Financial Times: "It's shocking that Trump, on the one hand, refuses to approve arms sales to Taiwan, and on the other hand, provides weapons to China."

David Sacks, a researcher at the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR), believes that this shows that Trump does not regard China as a hostile country, but as a potential customer. In an interview with the Wall Street Journal, he said: "This will intensify Taiwanese people's suspicion of the United States and growing doubts about the credibility and commitment of the United States. I think this is a huge propaganda victory for China, and they can use this to attack the Taiwanese people."

Previously, Trump revealed to the media on September 26 that he and Xi Jinping did not spend much time talking about Taiwan this time, and Xi Jinping was "very clear" about his views on the matter.

Taiwan urges to speed up arms sales to Taiwan

Although the United States does not recognize Taiwan as a country, it is still Taiwan's largest arms supplier. The U.S. Taiwan Relations Act clearly stipulates that the United States is obliged to provide Taiwan with defensive weapons so that Taiwan can maintain adequate self-defense capabilities.

The U.S. Ambassador to China, David Pond, mentioned in an exclusive interview with Fox News on Sunday that Trump had previously approved US$11 billion in arms sales to Taiwan, and other arms sales were "still under ongoing discussion," but did not specify a specific timetable for another arms sale to Taiwan worth about US$14 billion.

At the end of 2025, the Trump administration announced the approval of arms sales to Taiwan worth more than US$11 billion, which was one of the largest single arms sales to Taiwan in history. Currently, the United States still has an arms sales to Taiwan worth approximately US$14 billion, awaiting approval by the Trump administration.

Beijing has always expressed strong dissatisfaction with this and has been urging Washington to stop arms sales to Taiwan. After Trump and Xi Jinping met in Beijing in May this year, Trump publicly stated that arms sales to Taiwan were a "very good bargaining chip" in negotiations with China.

In an exclusive interview with CBS on Sunday, Taiwan's representative in the United States, Yu Da-mo, said that he believed that the United States' position on Taiwan has not changed, but also urged to speed up the supply of weapons. He said: "The United States has always been Taiwan's main supplier of weapons. We hope to receive this batch of weapons as soon as possible."