(Deutsche Welle Chinese website) After the Trump-Xi meeting came to an end, US Ambassador to China David Perdue accepted an exclusive interview with Fox News on Sunday (September 27). 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 was interested in purchasing U.S. weapons.
In an exclusive interview on the show, Fox News anchor Shannon Bream mentioned that many U.S. lawmakers have written to Secretary of State Rubio and Defense Secretary Hegseth to express high concern about the blockage of arms sales to Taiwan. The letter stated, ‘It is difficult to imagine how the United States can effectively project influence and deterrence in the Indo-Pacific region if the cost of maintaining a diplomatic posture is to deprive partners of critical deterrence capabilities. ’ Brahm then asked Pang Dewei: ‘Is the United States unwilling to provide the weapons Taiwan needs for self-defense in order to appease Xi Jinping? ’
Pang Dewei denied this statement and said that Trump's stance on the Taiwan issue is very firm and "unmatched in its toughness." He said, 'President Trump has approved arms sales to Taiwan that are 50% higher than any other president since 1979.'
“Every time President Trump and President Xi Jinping meet, they both talk about this issue. But President Trump has also been telling Xi Jinping that we would have sold weapons to all over the world. In fact, he even asked Xi Jinping at one point: Do you also want to buy some American weapons? But the U.S. 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 Assurances. "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’s theory of arms sales to China” has caused a shock in public opinion in Washington policy circles.
‘Trump’s alleged offer 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 is shocking that Trump refuses to approve arms sales to Taiwan on the one hand, but on the other hand, he 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 $11 billion in arms sales to Taiwan and that other arms sales were "still under ongoing discussion," but did not specify a specific timetable for another arms sale to Taiwan worth about $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 these weapons as soon as possible. ’
