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President Donald Trump He said he expects a “big step forward” on the topic of fentanyl during his anticipated term. Meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping this week.
Trump told reporters on Tuesday he expected to ease his fentanyl-related tariffs on Chinese goods He earlier this year pressured Beijing to further curb exports of chemicals that can be used to make drugs,
Trump said, “I hope to get it down because I believe they will help us with the fentanyl situation. They will do what they can.”
Trump continued, “We haven’t talked about timing yet, but we’re going to do something we’ve been doing very well with rare earths, as you know, and I think we’re going to take a big step forward with fentanyl.”
Trump plans to meet Xi on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in South Korea on Thursday, but Beijing has not yet confirmed the talks.
Trump made the comments while traveling aboard Air Force One to South Korea as part of a multi-day diplomatic tour in Asia.
earlier on Tuesday wall street journal The report said that an agreement on tariffs is expected between Trump and Xi. The US could halve the 20 percent fentanyl-related tariffs if Beijing bans exports of chemicals that can be used to produce fentanyl. WSJ report, citing people familiar with the negotiations.
While Mexico has been the main source of fentanyl in the US, Chinese companies are known to produce precursor chemicals that can be used to produce fentanyl. council on foreign relationsThe organization says that although these chemicals have legitimate uses, criminal organizations in Mexico have been known to purchase them to produce fentanyl.
This comment of Trump comes after the statement of the spokesperson of China’s Foreign Ministry. Said The Nation in March “has made it clear more than once that fentanyl is America’s problem, not China’s.”
“It is the responsibility of the United States to resolve this issue,” spokeswoman Lin Jian said. “Despite the goodwill shown by China, the US wrongly imposed tariffs on Chinese imports citing the fentanyl issue.”
China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi also spoke to Foreign Minister Marco Rubio on Monday. According to one, they discussed “the importance of US-China relations” and the upcoming meeting between Trump and Xi. statement From the State Department.
Trump and Xi are expected to talk about a range of topics, including Russia’s war in Ukraine and China’s rare earth minerals. Asked Tuesday if he expected Xi to pressure him on Taiwan, Trump said he was unsure whether the topic would come up.
“I’m not sure he would want to ask about it,” Trump said. “There’s not much to ask about it. Taiwan is Taiwan.”
Independent The White House and the Chinese Embassy have been contacted for comment.