US President Donald Trump asked Chinese leader Xi Jinping whether China wanted to buy American weapons, the US ambassador to China said on Sunday.

David Perdue told Fox News that Trump made the remark while defending continued US arms sales to Taiwan. ‘He actually asked President Xi, would he like to buy some at one point,’ Perdue said. He did not say how Xi responded.

The exchange took place during Xi’s visit to Washington last week, which included a summit at the White House on Thursday and a private tea session on Friday.

Perdue said Trump remains strongly supportive of Taiwan and had approved an $11 billion arms package for the island. US officials later told the Wall Street Journal there is no plan to sell weapons to China, noting that US law prohibits such sales.

Perdue also said Taiwan policy was unchanged: the US does not support independence and does not support coercion. Why it matters: the remark lands amid a delicate trade and security balancing act between Washington and Beijing.