President Trump asked Chinese President Xi Jinping whether China would like to buy American weapons, according to US Ambassador to China David Perdue. Perdue revealed the exchange on Fox News Sunday on September 27.

Perdue said: 'President Trump continues to say, Hey, we sell arms to other people around the world. He actually asked President Xi — would he like to buy some? — at one point.' The comment came as Perdue defended the administration's Taiwan arms record.

The White House told the New York Times the United States has no plans to sell arms to China. The State Department said US law prohibits arms sales to China and that 'there is no offer or plan to sell arms to China.'

The US has kept an arms embargo on China since 1989, and Congress restricted defense-article exports to mainland China in 1990. The remark came amid scrutiny over a delayed $14 billion Taiwan arms package, after an $11.1 billion package was approved in December.

Xi's reaction was not disclosed. The White House and State Department maintain there is no offer or plan to sell arms to China.