An American senator has demanded that China halt the flow of fentanyl ingredients into the U.S. before engaging in any trade negotiations. This demand has created uncertainty around the possibility of imminent talks between the leaders of the two largest economies in the world.
Steve Daines, a close ally of President Donald Trump, emphasized this condition during meetings with Chinese officials in Beijing over the weekend. He expressed hope for a leadership meeting before the end of the year, although Trump had previously mentioned that it would occur soon.
“It’ll be challenging to discuss tariffs and non-tariff barriers until the fentanyl precursor issue is resolved,” Daines stated in a telephone interview with Bloomberg News on Sunday.
The Montana senator, who played a role as an intermediary for Trump during the initial trade war with China, met with Chinese leaders, including Premier Li Qiang, over the weekend. Although he did not meet with President Xi Jinping, who, in 2023, hosted then-Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and California Governor Gavin Newsom separately.
While Daines described his conversation with Li as constructive, he highlighted a request that Beijing may find difficult to fulfill just days before the U.S. enacts new trade actions.
“I made it clear that President Trump expects China to take decisive actions to stop the flow of fentanyl precursors, not to slow it down, but to cease it altogether,” Daines emphasized.
This stance contradicts China’s assertion that it has already cracked down forcefully on the fentanyl trade. Earlier this month, Beijing stated that it had done everything possible for the US and suggested that Washington should be grateful instead of imposing tariffs on Chinese imports.
“The calendar is working against a meeting,” said Dexter Roberts, a nonresident senior fellow at the Atlantic Council Global China Hub and an instructor in Chinese politics at the University of Montana. “As tariffs increase on both sides, the chances of a Xi-Trump meeting diminish.”
Communist Party officials met with Daines and global CEOs just days before an April 1 deadline for a U.S. review of Beijing’s trade compliance and Trump’s intentions to impose reciprocal duties globally the following day.
Given the likelihood of China retaliating against any new trade restrictions from the US, as seen after Trump imposed tariffs on Chinese goods in February and March, the situation could escalate further.
The U.S. president has indicated a readiness to meet Xi repeatedly, noting last week that the Chinese leader will visit Washington in the near future. However, Beijing responded by stating it had no information to share regarding this visit.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio later cooled expectations of an imminent Xi-Trump meeting, stating that such an event would require a rationale, which does not currently exist on the agenda.
“There is mutual desire for a high-level meeting from both sides. However, there is no date set yet,” Daines remarked.
Wu Xinbo, the director at Fudan University’s Center for American Studies in Shanghai, viewed Daines’ visit as a positive development for bilateral relations, even if a meeting between Xi and Trump is not anticipated in the near future.
“The urgent need is for both sides to start talking and negotiating within the next one or two weeks to prevent further escalation of tensions in early April,” Wu explained. “The summit will be the result of the process rather than the initiation of it.”
Chinese officials claim that the US has not provided detailed steps to address its involvement in the illegal fentanyl trade, which led to the imposition of tariffs. The Trump administration rejected this claim, expecting the People’s Daily newspaper to publish an article condemning the fentanyl trade and for Beijing to pursue the death penalty for smugglers.
During his meeting with Daines on Sunday, Li stressed that no country can achieve development and prosperity through tariffs, but only through openness and cooperation. He reiterated that there are no winners in a trade war and expressed hope for frank communication, trust-building, and deepening practical cooperation between the US and China.
In addition to fentanyl, Daines also raised concerns about expired export licenses for US beef producers that are still pending renewal.
Daines expressed an interest in organizing a bipartisan delegation of US senators to visit China later in the year after David Perdue is confirmed as ambassador to the country. Perdue, having previous experience in Singapore and Hong Kong assisting American companies source affordable labor in Asian countries before entering politics.
