US and China Leaders to Discuss Restricting Illegal Fentanyl Supply

Advisor Sullivan and Minister Wang met in Bangkok, Thailand on the 26th and 27th (local time) and agreed to address the spread of fentanyl in the U.S. and the resumption of China’s purchase of Boeing passenger planes, as reported by AP and other media on the 28th. However, the two sides showed differences on other current issues such as North Korea, Taiwan, and sanctions on Chinese government technology, failing to reach an agreement.

The issue of fentanyl and Boeing passenger planes has already moved to the working-level discussion stage. The White House said, “Through this meeting, joint efforts of the two countries to address the fentanyl issue will proceed,” and “On the 30th, practitioners from both countries will gather to conduct the first working group for joint response.”

In the U.S., the overdose of fentanyl is a serious social issue, cited as the number one cause of death among people in their 20s and 30s. The Biden administration has repeatedly asked the Chinese government to restrain Chinese companies that manufacture fentanyl ingredients since last year.

At the San Francisco summit in November last year, U.S. President Joe Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping agreed on this issue, and the White House explained that the Chinese government has begun to take action against companies supplying fentanyl manufacturing materials.

The import process for China’s Boeing 737 Max has also resumed. In March 2019, Chinese authorities banned the import of the Boeing 737 Max following a series of accidents involving the model. With this agreement, the ban on the model that has been in place for over five years has been completely lifted, and Chinese airlines are planning to order at least 200 737 Max models.

However, both sides continued their psychological warfare on issues such as Taiwan and North Korea, U.S. sanctions on Chinese information technology, and the Red Sea issue. In particular, regarding the Taiwan issue, Advisor Sullivan said, “We oppose any unilateral changes,” but Minister Wang insisted, “The Taiwan issue is China’s domestic and national security concept,” causing some friction.

By. Sharon Lee