FBI Director Kash Patel travelled to China last week for discussions on fentanyl and broader law enforcement cooperation, shortly after the recent summit between US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping, where both sides highlighted a shared “consensus” on tackling the issue.
Kash Patel’s Secret China Visit
A source familiar with the visit told Reuters that Patel arrived in Beijing on Friday and remained there for around a day. His talks with Chinese officials took place the following day. The trip was not publicly disclosed by either government.
Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Lin Jian, when asked about Patel’s presence in Beijing during a daily briefing on Monday, said he was not aware of the visit, according to Reuters.
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China Announces Measures Targeting Fentanyl Supply
On Monday, China’s Commerce Ministry stated that it will revise its catalogue of drug-related precursor chemicals and introduce a licensing requirement for the export of certain chemicals to the United States, Canada, and Mexico.
This move followed President Trump’s decision to reduce tariffs on fentanyl-related imports from China. The duties were cut from 20 percent to 10 percent, effective November 10, as part of an agreement reached during Trump’s meeting with Xi Jinping last month.
After the talks, Trump told reporters that Xi would work “very hard to stop the flow” of fentanyl into the United States. The synthetic opioid has become the leading cause of overdose deaths in the country.
Fentanyl Crisis in the United States
Over 112,000 overdose deaths were recorded in the United States in 2024, with fentanyl driving the majority of fatalities. While pharmaceutical fentanyl is used in medical settings for severe pain relief, illegal variants are commonly manufactured in labs in China and Mexico before being transported into the US.
US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said that the specific terms of the new consensus reached between Washington and Beijing will be developed through a bilateral working group. However, it is unclear if Patel’s discussions in Beijing involved this new mechanism, Reuters reported.
Zubair Amin is a Senior Journalist at NewsX with over seven years of experience in reporting and editorial work. He has written for leading national and international publications, including Foreign Policy Magazine, Al Jazeera, The Economic Times, The Indian Express, The Wire, Article 14, Mongabay, News9, among others. His primary focus is on international affairs, with a strong interest in US politics and policy. He also writes on West Asia, Indian polity, and constitutional issues. Zubair tweets at zubaiyr.amin
