‘Unsettling to American partners’: Trump’s offer to sell arms to China is an admission he doesn’t take its security threats seriously, experts warn

President Donald Trump offered to sell weapons to China during President Xi Jinping’s recent summit in Washington, a move foreign policy experts said makes a mockery of U.S. warnings about the looming Chinese military threat. 

In an interview with Fox News Sunday, David Purdue, the U.S. ambassador to China, suggested U.S. weapons are open to a multitude of countries, China included.

“President Trump continues to say, ‘Hey, we sell arms to other people around the world,’” he said. “He actually asked President Xi, would he like to buy some at one point.”

The White House said the U.S. government has no plans to sell weapons to China. The State Department did not immediately respond to Fortune’s request for comment.

The comment baffled foreign policy experts, who argued the suggestion of selling weapons to Beijing would contradict the slew of sanctions and trade restrictions the Trump administration has placed upon the country, as well as dismiss China’s role in supplying munitions and military intelligence to Iran. The remark also came after reports China had obtained sensitive parts for the F-35 fighter that could be used to neutralize U.S. stealth technology. 

“You would not [want to] help China to modernize its military and turn against yourself,” Zhiqun Zhu, professor of political science and international relations at Bucknell University, told Fortune.........

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