Trade dispute
China is committed to the USA for fentanyl control
The substance fentanyl is the hanger for US tariffs against Chinese goods. China feels blackmailed by the US government, but the signals from the Foreign Office in Beijing are mixed.
In the ongoing trade dispute, China is obliged to thank the USA for his approach to the drug Fentanyl. China had done everything for the United States and did a great favor for them, it said from the Foreign Ministry in Beijing. “The United States should have brought us a big thank you,” said an official who asked for anonymity in front of the journalists present.
The officers of the Foreign Ministry and the Ministry of Public Security accused the United States to use Fentanyl as an excuse for the imposition of tariffs. In an already published white book, they presented China’s efforts to control the drug and with it related substances.
Trump justifies US tariffs with fentanyl smuggling
Beijing also signaled willingness to cooperate, but would not be put under pressure or blackmailed by Washington, the officials emphasized. At the beginning of 2024, both countries had set up a working group to work together in terms of the fentanyl problem. In it, American and Chinese authorities had exchanged information and found out how the white book emerged.
In the meantime, the United States is demanding a 20 percent surcharge for Chinese goods at its limit. Beijing already reacted with countermeasures that it sees it as lawful for the protection of Chinese interests. At the beginning of March, US President Donald Trump justified his approach, among other things, by the fact that fentanyl from China would continue to be smuggled into the USA. In the United States, overdoses with the illegal drug also increased the number of drug deaths. Washington considers China as the main country of origin of the substance.
dpa
Source: Stern
