US Senator Steve Daines has stated that China must halt the flow of fentanyl ingredients into the United States before any further trade negotiations can occur, Bloomberg reports.
This demand introduces a potential obstacle to planned talks between the leaders of the world’s two largest economies aimed at easing ongoing tensions.
Daines, a Republican Senator from Montana and ally of President Donald Trump, conveyed this condition during meetings with Chinese officials in Beijing over the weekend. While expressing hope for a leadership meeting before the end of the year, Daines emphasized the priority of addressing the fentanyl issue.
“It’ll be difficult to have any conversation about tariffs and non-tariff barriers until the fentanyl precursor issue is resolved,” Daines said in an interview with Bloomberg News.
Daines met with Chinese leaders, including Premier Li Qiang, but did not meet with President Xi Jinping.
Daines’ stance contrasts with China’s position, which asserts that it has already taken strong measures to curb the fentanyl trade. Beijing claims it has fulfilled its obligations and that the US should acknowledge these efforts rather than impose further trade restrictions.
Chinese Communist Party officials met with Daines and global CEOs in advance of an April 1 deadline for a US review of Beijing’s trade compliance and Trump’s planned reciprocal duties.
China is likely to retaliate against any new trade curbs from the US, as it has done in the past.
President Trump has repeatedly expressed his willingness to meet with President Xi, even suggesting a visit to Washington in the near future. However, Beijing has stated that it has “no information” regarding such a visit. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has suggested that a concrete reason would be needed to schedule such a high-level meeting.
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