BEIJING – China said it has forcefully cracked down on the fentanyl trade and condemned US President Donald Trump’s tariffs, as the world’s two largest economies remain at odds over the conditions for any talks to cool tensions.
Officials from China’s Foreign Ministry and the Ministry of Public Security said in a briefing on March 12 that the country has achieved success in controlling the drugs and done all it can for the US.
The officials asked not to be identified discussing sensitive matters.
A Foreign Ministry official said Beijing has done the US a favour and Washington should have said a “big thank you” instead of slapping levies on Chinese imports.
He also called on the Trump administration to return to dialogue and expressed willingness to continue working with the US.
Talks between the US and China on trade and other issues are stuck at lower levels, with both sides failing to agree on the best way to proceed.
Beijing said Washington has not outlined detailed steps they expect from China on fentanyl in order to have the tariffs lifted, Bloomberg News reported, citing people familiar with the issue.
A person familiar with the matter said Mr Trump’s team rejected the assertion, saying the White House had sent messages to China through diplomats in Washington.
In an executive order hiking tariffs on China last week, Mr Trump said Beijing had done too little to alleviate the drug crisis and called the alleged flow of drugs into the US “an unusual and extraordinary threat”.
China in turn accused the Trump administration of using the fentanyl issue as a pretext to raise tariffs.
It also issued a white paper in March outlining its efforts to control fentanyl and related substances.
Chinese officials handed out copies of the document to reporters on March 12 and largely reiterated its commitment to fighting drugs.
Illicit fentanyl has contributed to a rise in overdose deaths in the US over the past decade.
A 2021 report by a congressional panel said China was the primary country of origin for illicit fentanyl and related substances trafficked into the US.
The two nations had a working group that met regularly from January 2024 to discuss how to cooperate on the problem.
As part of that, China took various actions, including arresting a money launderer working with a Mexican drug cartel and scheduling more precursor chemicals to better control exports, the Biden administration said in August 2024. BLOOMBERG
Join ST’s Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
