Trump denies offering to sell US weapons to China after envoy's claim

Trump denied discussing US arms sales to China, contradicting his envoy's account that he pitched the idea to Xi Jinping.

• Trump told reporters he had not heard of the offer and had not discussed arms sales with Xi Jinping.
• US envoy David Perdue said in a Fox News interview that Trump asked Xi whether China wanted to buy American weapons.
• The State Department said US law bars arms sales to China and no such offer or plan exists.
• China's foreign ministry declined to answer directly, reaffirming it builds defense capacity based on its own needs.
• It remains unclear whether the alleged offer was made during Xi Jinping's visit to Washington last week or in earlier talks.