Trump denies discussing arms sales with Xi, adding ‘they’d probably like to buy it’

President Trump on Monday denied talking about selling U.S. weapons with Chinese President Xi Jinping, but added that China would “probably like to buy it.”

Trump took questions from reporters about his recent meeting with Xi and was asked about U.S. Ambassador to China David Perdue’s remark on Sunday that Trump proposed selling weapons to China.

“I never heard of that one,” Trump said. “I don’t have to ask him. You mean we’re going to sell? No, they’d probably like to buy it because we do make better equipment than that, so maybe it’s a good idea. But we didn’t discuss. He may have been talking about Taiwan. I think he probably was talking about that.”

Perdue said in an interview on Fox News’s “Fox News Sunday” with host Shannon Bream that Trump floated the idea to Xi, despite years of tension between both countries. He said Trump downplayed U.S. arms sales to Taiwan as one of several sales made by the U.S. to other countries.

“President Trump continues to say, ‘Hey, we sell arms to other people around the world,'” Perdue told Bream.

Bream noted concerns from lawmakers on both sides of the aisle about delays in transferring aid and weapons to Taiwan as the island seeks to defend itself from China’s threat to invade it. Perdue pushed back when she asked if the U.S. has delayed sending arms to Taiwan to appease Xi.

Perdue said Trump “is as strong on Taiwan as I’ve ever seen anybody” and that both presidents will resume talks about U.S. arms sales to Taiwan in the future.

Trump on Monday offered a positive outlook on his meeting with his Chinese counterpart, saying that out of a score of 10, “I would rate it at 12. Very respectful, very good, great meeting.”

Trump on Friday confirmed he will meet with Xi two more times before the end of the year, first in Xi’s home country for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation meeting in November and at the Group of 20 summit in Miami in December.

Providing China with arms would go against U.S. laws that allow the shipping of arms to Taiwan to defend itself, and to deter China from invading it. The U.S., though it strongly supports the island, does not recognize Taiwan as a country and past administrations have not committed to defending it if China invaded.

In November, Trump warned China that there would be “consequences” if it invaded Taiwan, but he did not provide a direct threat. CBS News’s Norah O’Donnell pressed Trump about it in a “60 Minutes” interview, asking why he would not say what those consequences would be.

“I don’t want to give away, I can’t give away my secrets,” Trump told O’Donnell. “I don’t want to be one of these guys that tells you exactly what’s going to happen if something happens. The other side knows, but I’m not somebody that tells you everything because you’re asking me a question.”