The flags of China and the United States are seen printed on paper in this illustration taken on January 27, 2022.
Dado Ruvic | Reuters
Beijing – China is ready to do more to respond to the concerns of the White House concerning the illicit fentanyl trade, but it will be “a different thing” if a continuous debate on drugs facilitates more American rates on the second world economy, said a official of the Chinese Foreign Ministry on Wednesday.
Washington should have “thank a big thank you” to China on what she has done to restrict the fentanyl trade in the United States, said the manager via an official English translation, saying that the White House did not appreciate the effort and rather increased its functions on Chinese products twice this year on drugs.
Since his entry into office in January, US President Donald Trump has increased prices on Chinese products by 20% on the basis of the country’s alleged role in the American fentanyl crisis. Addictive drugs, whose precursors are mainly produced in China and Mexico, has resulted in tens of thousands of overdose deaths every year in the United States
The White House did not immediately respond to a request for CNBC comments.
Earlier this month, the Chinese government has published a white paper To make its efforts known to reduce the production and export of fentanyl precursors in recent years. The manager did not answer a question directly on the question of whether China would stop his recent efforts to restrict this business.
Under the Biden administration, the United States and China said fentanyl was one of the few areas in which the two countries could cooperate. The two parties had dedicated discussions in Beijing last year on the subject.
Trump indicated earlier this year that he could also use prices as a way to put pressure on China to force Byédance based in Beijing to sell Tiktok, which takes place against a Start in early April Stay available in the United States
Trump had underlined the prices as a way to reduce the American trade deficit with China during his first presidency. Just before the start of the COVVI-19 pandemic, the two parties concluded a “phase one” trade agreement forcing Beijing to increase its purchases of American goods. American data show that Trade deficit with China Reduced to $ 295.4 billion in 2024, compared to $ 346.83 billion in 2016, just before Trump’s first term.
But the differences in trade have continued since the beginning of January of the second term of the Leader of the White House. The effective American average price rate on Chinese products should now reach 33%, against around 13% before Trump begins his last mandate, according to estimates by the chief economist of Nomura, the economist Ting Lu.
Beijing responded to the latest American rates with targeted tasks on energy and agricultural products, while tightening the restrictions on the exports of critical minerals that the United States needs. The Chinese Ministry of Commerce has also added several American companies, mainly in aerospace or defense, to lists that limit their ability to do business with China.
The head of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said on Wednesday that Chinese countermeasures were “legitimate actions” to protect their own interests.
Allianz estimates that additional 20% American prices on Chinese products will reach China’s GDP growth of 0.6 percentage points this year and next year. But the company still expects the Chinese economy to increase by 4.6% this year and 4.2% in 2026, based on the hypothesis that the stimulus can mitigate the price impact.
“I would tend to say that reprisals are not so strong, perhaps leaving room for negotiations,” said Françoise Huang, principal economist for Asia-Pacific and Global Trade to the Commerce d’Allianz, in an interview with CNBC last week.
