What happened
President Donald Trump has denied claims made by US Ambassador to China David Perdue that the White House discussed selling US weapons to Chinese President Xi Jinping during a recent state visit. Trump stated that he was unaware of such discussions and suggested that Perdue may have been referring to Taiwan.
The US has a weapons sale embargo on China, imposed after the 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre. The State Department has confirmed that there is no plan to sell arms to China. Perdue's comments came after Chinese state media reported that Xi asked Trump to oppose Taiwan independence during the visit.
The Trump administration is currently delaying a decision on a $14 billion military aid package for Taiwan, which has caused concern among some Republicans. A group of senators, including Mitch McConnell and John Cornyn, have written to the administration seeking an explanation for the delay.
