U.S. officials have denied any plans to sell weapons to China, following a statement from the U.S. Ambassador to China, David Perdue. Perdue indicated during a television interview that President Donald Trump had offered a weapons deal to Chinese President Xi Jinping during a recent summit.

Perdue told Fox News that Trump had told Xi Jinping, "Hey, we sell arms to other people around the world," and added that the president "actually asked President Xi would he like to buy some at one point." Perdue did not elaborate on Xi's response or provide further details about the alleged offer.

However, a U.S. official speaking to ABC News on Monday stated unequivocally, "The U.S. government has no plans to sell weapons to China." The State Department issued a statement to ABC News, asserting that "U.S. law prohibits arms sales to China and there is no offer or plan to sell arms to China."

When questioned by reporters about Perdue's comments, President Trump stated he "didn't discuss it" with Xi Jinping, suggesting that Perdue might have been referring to Taiwan instead of mainland China.

"I never heard of that one. I'm going to have to ask him. You mean we're going to sell? Now they'd probably like to buy it because we do make better equipment than them. So maybe it's a good idea. Yeah, but, we didn't discuss it," Trump said. "I think he probably was talking about Taiwan."

A potential arms sale to China would be a significant departure from current U.S. policy. China is considered the primary strategic and economic competitor of the United States, and numerous economic sanctions and restrictions are in place against Chinese entities tied to its military. The two nations are also in competition in areas such as artificial intelligence development and have differing views on Taiwan's sovereignty.

During the summit, Perdue also stated that Xi Jinping had assured Trump that China was "looking into" allegations of providing satellite imagery to Iran, another U.S. adversary. The Trump administration has previously stated a goal of targeting countries with financial ties to Iran.

The discussion of a potential weapons sale to China emerges as the administration has paused a proposed $14 billion arms sale to Taiwan. China asserts sovereignty over Taiwan, a self-governing democracy, and maintains military pressure on the island, which relies on U.S. support for its defense.

Perdue maintained that the administration's commitment to Taiwan's defense remains strong, stating that Trump has "made it very clear that we have not changed the One China policy." He also noted that Trump has overseen the sale of 50% more arms to Taiwan than any previous president since 1979.