President Donald Trump asked Chinese President Xi Jinping whether China wanted to buy American weapons, according to US Ambassador to China David Perdue.

Perdue said the exchange came up during discussions about US arms sales to Taiwan, the self-governed island that Beijing claims as its own. The comments were reported on September 28, 2026.

The claim is striking given that Washington and Beijing are strategic rivals and the United States does not sell arms to China. Any such offer would mark a sharp break from decades of US policy.

Neither the White House nor Beijing has publicly confirmed the exchange. Analysts say the remark, if accurate, underlines Trump’s unconventional approach to diplomacy with China.

The remark also lands at a sensitive moment in US-China relations, with the two powers competing across trade, technology and military influence. Taiwan remains the most dangerous flashpoint, and Washington has long supplied the island with defensive weapons under the Taiwan Relations Act. Beijing has repeatedly condemned those sales as interference in its internal affairs.