The f35 is able to be sold to foreign countries. At least the a version.
The F-35 can be sold to Foreign countries, but we can sell them F-15’s for more and the F-35 production line is pretty maxed out. It would be Hilarious if we sold a stripped down F-15EX’s to Viet Nam to tweak China.
People that want to fight at long range want two engines. It can carry 22 Air to air missiles so only a cheapskate is going to lose a dog fight.
Also, When Trump talked about “Hypersonic missiles” he was talking about missiles like the 1000 mile range stand off AGM-183 that the EX can carry.
China would be way more scared of an F-15 loaded with 6 AGM-183’s than it would be of an F-35 and its stealth. Most of the Websites discussing the AGM-183 seem to be in Chinese.
Our media never took Trump seriously, but China’s does.