Chinese official reportedly seeking talks with Trump on fentanyl ingredients amid trade war
A top Chinese government official is asking what the Trump administration wants the communist nation to do about chemicals used to make fentanyl amid an ongoing trade war between the world’s two largest economies.
Wang Xiaohong, China’s minister of public security, has been making inquiries about what Trump wants China to do about the fentanyl issue over the last few days, The Wall Street Journal reported Friday.
Chinese companies produce precursors, large quantities of chemicals that eventually flow to Mexican drug cartels, which then make fentanyl and smuggle it into the United States.
Beijing could possibly have Wang meet with senior Trump administration officials in a neutral country, the newspaper reported.
Trump has tried to persuade China, Mexico and Canada to do more to combat the flow of fentanyl into the U.S.
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“Fentanyl can be the icebreaker for the two countries to start with a more positive tone,” Yun Sun, director of the China program at the Stimson Center, a Washington think tank, told the news outlet. “Both sides are eager to get some negotiations started.”
Upon taking office, Trump imposed 20% tariffs on China over its role in the fentanyl epidemic in the U.S., which kills tens of thousands of Americans every year.
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Since then, Trump has increased tariffs on China to 145%, while Beijing has retaliated with 125% tariffs on American goods.