As China is looking for a way out of the U.S. trade deadlock, fentanyl may be key

When Donald J. Trump first tried to reach a trade deal with China at the White House, Beijing tried to court with the U.S. president by banning all variants of the powerful synthetic opioid fentanyl.

Now, as China and the United States are deadlocked in a fierce trade war, the war has thrilled the world, proposing to do more to further stop the flow of fentanyl, and chemicals used to make it China may once again become an option for China.

Beijing has used fentanyl cooperation for years as a leverage for its broader relationship with the United States. After the 2019 move to ban all variants, President Trump accused China of not doing enough to stop the drug from moving into the U.S. and as the issue of fentanyl becomes increasingly tangled in the broader trade dispute.

At that time, China also agreed to participate in the joint law enforcement crackdown on fentanyl with the United States. This move led Trump to praise Chinese leader Xi Jinping with a “excellent humanitarian attitude.”

With the new Trump administration, China is under greater pressure to do more to combat exports of chemical precursors used to make fentanyl. The government believes fentanyl is the reason for the two additional tariffs imposed on China of 10% in February and March. The Trump administration also ended a loophole on Friday that said it allowed a small number of chemical pioneers to be shipped to the United States without being discovered.

Mr. Trump asserted that China had deceived trade with the United States for decades, and he also raised tariffs on most Chinese goods to at least 145%. China responded at a similarly high price, vowing to “fight” with what Beijing calls blackmail.

But there are signs that both sides may be looking for a way to lower a trade war that is expected to delay economic growth in both countries and around the world. China's Commerce Department said on Friday that senior U.S. officials “evaluated” the demands to start negotiations – although it insisted that Beijing would only agree to the negotiations if the U.S. showed “sincerity.”

Going back to fentanyl can be one way to break the deadlock.

According to a person who spoke with Chinese officials, China is considering making a proposal to deepen cooperation with the United States in combating fentanyl. The plan will include sending top security officials in Beijing to Washington to break trade talks.

China said it hopes the Trump administration will remove its tariffs before the two countries hold talks. The person said Beijing hopes that the commitment of working with the U.S. on fentanyl will allow both governments to reduce tariffs at the same time, a way to avoid backlash.

To prove China's seriousness, Beijing attacked Wang Xiaogang, the Chinese Minister of Public Security and Mr. XI's close ally, to preside over any such negotiations with the United States on fentanyl. The Wall Street Journal first reported that China is weighing China's concerns about China's role in fentanyl trade.

Mr. Wang’s relationship with Xi Jinping can be traced back to at least the 1990s, when he was deputy director of the Fuzhou Public Safety Bureau of Fujian Province along the coast of Fujian Province, when Xi Jinping was the city’s highest official.

Mr. Wang is also the director of the China National Anesthesiology Control Commission, who held talks with Rahul Gupta via videotapes, and Joseph R. Biden Jr., director of the White House Office of Drug Control.

It would be a slight shift for China to provide unilaterally more work to address the scourge of fentanyl, which has been willing to work with the United States in recent months, but would not be willing to be the same as the tariffs if there is no pressure.

China is responsible for the fentanyl crisis in the United States, saying it is a reflection of Washington's failure to resolve social problems in the United States.

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi criticized the tariffs imposed on reasons why fentanyl needs to do more, saying, “The United States should not recover well with an evil attitude.” That month, the government released a white paper detailing how it works in control of fentanyl, including using technologies such as artificial intelligence. It said it opposed “accusation and bucking” on the issue.

Shen Dingli, an international relations scholar based in Shanghai, said China has the ability to eliminate the fentanyl trade.

“In terms of control, China is one of the most effective countries in the world,” Shin said, unaware of China's plans to provide negotiations on fentanyl.

“The fentanyl problem has never been an unsolvable technical problem,” he added. “It's just a political problem and can be solved in seconds as long as you have sincerity.”

After then House Speaker Nancy Pelosi visited Taiwan, fentanyl's cooperation was frozen in 2022. Negotiations did not resume until November 2023 after Mr. XI and Mr. Biden held a summit with him, and Washington agreed to Beijing's request to lift U.S. sanctions in the forensic institute run by China's Department of Public Safety.

Last September, Chinese officials expanded the list of precursor chemicals that need to be supervised. Even so, since manufacturers are able to develop alternative chemicals, law enforcement is a game for cats and mice. More complicated things are even more complicated, many precursor chemicals are also used to make legal drugs.