China sends Xi’s security tsar to trade talks with US

The dispatch of Wang Xiaohong to Switzerland signals the importance of the fentanyl issue in the relationship.

Chinese public security minister Wang Xiaohong. Picture: Mark Schiefelbein/Reuters

Chinese leader Xi Jinping is sending his top public-security aide to Switzerland as part of Beijing’s trade talks with Washington, according to people familiar with the matter, signalling the importance of the fentanyl issue to bilateral relations.

Wang Xiaohong, who is the minister of public security and a senior leader within the State Council, China’s cabinet, will be part of the Chinese delegation led by Vice Premier He Lifeng, a trusted aide to Xi and a gatekeeper to the world’s second-largest economy.

They will meet with Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer in Switzerland on Saturday and Sunday for high-stakes talks that could help determine whether both sides can walk back from the brink of sky-high tariffs.

Xi has designated Wang, a close lieutenant, as the point person in Beijing’s recent discussions with Washington over how to address President Donald Trump’s concerns about China’s role in the fentanyl trade, The Wall Street Journal has reported, helping pave the way for the weekend trade talks.

The Trump administration has pushed Beijing to help fix America’s drug crisis with more drastic measures to cut off the production and export of chemicals used to make fentanyl, but distrust between the US and China had plagued such efforts. Chinese officials framed their willingness to co-operate on counter-narcotics as a matter of goodwill, saying US tariffs make them less likely to help solve the fentanyl problem.

In recent weeks, as economic pressure has mounted in China, Beijing has tried to re-engage on the fentanyl issue to offer an off-ramp from the tariff hostilities and allow both sides to start trade negotiations.

“Wang’s presence means one thing: Fentanyl is not only on the table, but also a key piece in the US-China trade talks at this stage,” said Yun Sun, director of the China program at the Stimson Center, a Washington think tank.

“How willing China is to co-operate will illustrate how eager they are to make the trade deal.” Since starting his second term, President Trump has slapped 145 per cent tariffs on Chinese goods while Beijing has hit back with 125 per cent duties on American products.

In a Truth Social post Friday morning, Trump indicated that he is willing to cut the levies to 80 per cent – a level that would represent de-escalation but still prohibit normal bilateral trade.

“80% Tariff on China seems right! Up to Scott B.,” Trump wrote, referring to Bessent.

Some 20 per cent of Trump’s tariffs on China were tied to the country’s role in a fentanyl crisis that kills tens of thousands of Americans every year. Beijing refused to engage at the time when those duties were imposed, with Chinese officials arguing the US was using the fentanyl issue as a pretext for its trade assault on China.

While in Geneva, the US also held talks on a trade agreement with Switzerland, though the focus on fentanyl as an issue was clearly tailored to negotiations between Beijing and Washington. Switzerland’s president, Karin Keller-Sutter, told reporters Friday after separate meetings with China and the US that she wasn’t aware of whether fentanyl was discussed in conversations between her country and China.

The White House in recent days has given Beijing a list of suggestions on how China can crack down on trafficking of the chemicals used to make fentanyl, including a strong warning to criminals involved in such trade.

The Chinese delegation to Switzerland is expected to address the specific demands from the administration, the people familiar with the matter said.

– Dow Jones Newswires