Trump and Xi continued to discuss future US arms sales to Taiwan.
Taiwan has been waiting for months for Washington to approve a proposed arms package worth about $14 billion, following an $11 billion weapons deal announced last December.
US President Donald Trump sought to downplay Washington’s pending arms sale to Taiwan by telling Chinese President Xi Jinping that the US sells weapons to countries around the world, and even asking whether China would like to buy some, according to US ambassador to China David Perdue. Xi urged Trump to “prudently handle the Taiwan question” and called on Washington to oppose Taiwan independence, according to China’s official news agency Xinhua. Earlier, Taiwan deputy foreign minister Chen Ming-chi said Washington “very much” understands the island’s defence requirements and the military pressure it faces from China.
“President Trump continues to say, hey, we sell arms to other people around the world. The summit resulted in an extension of the US-China trade truce, while differences over Taiwan, artificial intelligence and Iran remained. The latest package was put on hold after Trump’s meeting with Xi in Beijing in May. Trump has not indicated whether the deal will move forward following their latest summit. Beijing has repeatedly urged Washington to halt arms sales to Taiwan, which China claims as part of its territory. Ahead of the latest summit, China had made clear that Taiwan remained a major issue in its talks with Washington. The White House did not immediately release its own account of the discussion on Taiwan.
He actually asked President Xi, would he like to buy some at one point,” Perdue told Fox News on Sunday.