Trump asked Xi about buying US weapons, ambassador claims
White House denies plans to sell arms to China, citing US law.
AI-assisted coverage comparison, editor-supervised · How this was made
U.S. President Donald Trump (R) and President of China Xi Jinping (L) arrive for a tour of the National Archives Museum on September 25, 2026 in Washington, DC. (Getty)
Photograph: The Independent (US) (embedded from source)
What this story says
- US Ambassador to China David Perdue stated that President Donald Trump asked Chinese President Xi Jinping if he would like to buy American weapons.
- The White House has officially stated that the US has no plans to sell arms to China.
- A State Department official confirmed that US law prohibits arms sales to China.
- The Trump administration had previously kept a $14bn arms sale package to Taiwan in abeyance.
Who covered it
Percentages are shares of the 11 outlets carrying a published leaning rating. 10 of the 21 outlets we know ran this story carry no rating and are not counted in them. Coverage measured .
Trust
42/100
Craft
57/100
Hype
41/100
21 sources · methodology
US Ambassador to China David Perdue claimed that President Donald Trump asked Chinese President Xi Jinping if he would like to buy American weapons. Perdue made the statement on Sunday during an interview on Fox News, discussing the Chinese president's recent visit to Washington. The White House has since stated that the US has no plans to sell arms to China. A State Department official confirmed that US law prohibits arms sales to China.
Disagreement on Trump's offer
While US Ambassador to China David Perdue stated that President Trump asked Xi Jinping if he wanted to buy American weapons, the White House, through an official, said the US has no plans to sell arms to China. A State Department official added that US law prohibits such sales. Some reports noted that spokespeople for the White House and State Department declined to comment when asked whether Trump made the proposal during the recent meeting with Xi or in a previous meeting.
What the coverage left out
None of the left-rated, centre-rated, or right-rated reports below mention the specific details of the conversation between President Trump and President Xi Jinping regarding the potential arms sale, beyond Ambassador Perdue's claim that Trump asked if Xi would like to buy weapons. The specific wording of Trump's question or Xi's response, if any, is not detailed in the provided digests or full reports.
Still developing. We have re-checked which outlets are covering this 1 time, most recently on 28 Sept 2026, 08:15, and will add the sides that appear.
How other outlets pictured it
Which photograph to run is each newsroom’s own choice. The leaning beside a name is that outlet’s published rating, not a claim that the pictures divide along it. Every picture is shown from the outlet’s own server and links to the article it ran in.
How each side covered it
Our own reading of the reporting listed below, written from the outlets’ articles rather than quoted from them. The reasoning is set out on our methodology page.
Left
7 rated outlets
- Seven left-rated reports led on the claim by US Ambassador to China David Perdue that President Donald Trump asked Chinese President Xi Jinping if he would like to buy American weapons. These reports also included the White House's denial of any plans to sell arms to China and the confirmation that US law prohibits such sales. The Independent's full report mentioned that the Trump administration has kept a $14bn arms sale package to Taiwan in abeyance, which Trump called a 'very good negotiating chip'. The reports also noted that China is considered the greatest rival to the US by most policymakers and legislators of both parties.
Centre
2 rated outlets
- The single centre-rated report highlighted US Ambassador to China David Perdue's claim that President Donald Trump asked Chinese President Xi Jinping if he would like to buy American weapons. It also included the White House's statement that the US has no plans to sell arms to China and the State Department's confirmation that US law prohibits such sales. The report noted that China is considered by most US policymakers and legislators of both parties to be the greatest military, economic and diplomatic rival of the US. It also mentioned that the Trump administration has kept a $14bn arms sale package to Taiwan in abeyance.
Right
2 rated outlets
- Two right-rated reports focused on the White House's denial of plans to sell weapons to China, citing The Wall Street Journal. These reports stated that the US has no plans to sell American weapons to China and has not made such an offer. They also mentioned that US law prohibits such deals with Beijing. One report included that US Ambassador to China David Perdue claimed on Fox News that Trump had asked Xi Jinping if he 'would like' to buy American weapons.
Questions about this coverage
- How did the left and right cover Trump asked Xi about buying US weapons, ambassador claims?
- Of the 11 outlets on this story carrying a published leaning rating, 64% are rated left, 18% are rated centre, 18% are rated right. Those percentages are shares of the rated outlets, not of every outlet that ran it, which was 21. The sections above set out what each side emphasised, in its own terms.
- Is Trump asked Xi about buying US weapons, ambassador claims left or right?
- Too few of the outlets on this story carry a published leaning rating to say. 11 of them do, and this site does not characterise a field under 12: at that size one newsroom filing moves the share by ten points. The percentages above are the count as it stands.
- Is the coverage of Trump asked Xi about buying US weapons, ambassador claims biased?
- Trump asked Xi about buying US weapons, ambassador claims is one event reported by 21 outlets, and this page does not rate the story as biased or unbiased. What it publishes is the spread: which outlets ran it, where named rating organisations place each of them on the spectrum, and what each side chose to lead with. A leaning rating describes an outlet's record over time, not this article, and the two should not be run together.
- Which outlets covered Trump asked Xi about buying US weapons, ambassador claims?
- 21 that we know of, every one of them listed further up this page with a link to its own report and to what we hold on the publisher. Nothing here is a summary of somebody else's summary: the outlets are named so the original reporting can be read.
- Did Donald Trump offer to sell weapons to China?
- US Ambassador to China David Perdue claimed that President Donald Trump asked Chinese President Xi Jinping if he would like to buy American weapons. However, the White House has officially denied any plans to sell arms to China.
- Does US law allow arms sales to China?
- No, US law prohibits arms sales to China. A State Department official confirmed this, and the White House has stated that there are no plans or offers to sell arms to China.
- What is the US stance on selling arms to China?
- The White House has stated that the US has no plans to sell weapons to China. This statement follows claims by US Ambassador to China David Perdue that President Trump had inquired about Xi Jinping's interest in purchasing American weapons.
Read it at the source
21 outlets, grouped by the leaning a published rating gives them. Every headline links to the original; an underlined outlet name opens our profile of that publisher.
Left
7- Trump offered to sell arms to China, US ambassador claims (opens The Independent (US) in a new tab)
The Independent (US) — is The Independent (US) biased? Our profile of this outlet
- Trump offered to sell arms to China, US ambassador claims (opens The Independent in a new tab)
The Independent — is The Independent biased? Our profile of this outlet
- Trump offered to sell arms to China, US ambassador says (opens Brisbane Times in a new tab)
Brisbane Times — is Brisbane Times biased? Our profile of this outlet
- Trump offered to sell arms to China, US ambassador says (opens The Age in a new tab)
- Trump offered to sell arms to China, US ambassador says (opens Sydney Morning Herald in a new tab)
Sydney Morning Herald — is Sydney Morning Herald biased? Our profile of this outlet
- Washington Denies Plans to Sell Weapons to China. (opens aljazeera.net in a new tab)
aljazeera.net — is aljazeera.net biased? Our profile of this outlet
- WSJ: US Has No Plans to Sell Weapons to China (opens fakti.bg in a new tab)
Centre
2- Trump offered to sell arms to China, US ambassador says (opens WA today in a new tab)
- US Officials Clarified that They Have No Intention of Selling Arms to China, and the US Ambassador to China Stated that President Trump Had Asked Xi Jinping Whether He Would Be Willing to Buy US Weapons. (opens Unknown in a new tab)
Unknown
Right
2- The United States does not plan to sell American weapons to China (opens news-pravda.com in a new tab)
news-pravda.com — is news-pravda.com biased? Our profile of this outlet
- Trump offered to sell arms to China, US ambassador says (opens The Straits Times in a new tab)
The Straits Times — is The Straits Times biased? Our profile of this outlet
Not rated
10- White House Denies that Arms Sales to China Are Being Planned (opens welingelichtekringen.nl in a new tab)
welingelichtekringen.nl — is welingelichtekringen.nl biased? Our profile of this outlet
- White House Denies that Arms Sales to China Are Being Planned (opens Nieuws.nl in a new tab)
- US: We Have No Plans to Sell Weapons to China (opens asriran.com in a new tab)
asriran.com — is asriran.com biased? Our profile of this outlet
- Washington Denies Plans to Sell Weapons to China (opens Jordan News in a new tab)
Jordan News — is Jordan News biased? Our profile of this outlet
- US Reaction to Proposed Arms Sales to China (opens tabnak.ir in a new tab)
- Trump offered to sell arms to China, US ambassador says (opens PressNewsAgency in a new tab)
PressNewsAgency — is PressNewsAgency biased? Our profile of this outlet
- WSJ: US Has No Plans to Sell Arms to China (opens Apa in a new tab)
- US Officials Deny Selling Weapons to China (opens snn.ir in a new tab)
How did this read?
About the coverage, not about the story. We do not ask whether you agree with what happened — we have no honest use for that answer.
