President Trump's supporter, Sen. Steve Daines (R-Mont.), met with Beijing's Deputy Prime Minister Lifeng on Saturday, China's economic head. This was the first visit by US politicians to China since Trump returned to the White House amid tensions between the two countries over trade tariffs.
“Senator Daines welcomed today's meeting with Deputy Prime Minister and his Lifeng. The senator expressed his continued demands from President Trump that China will block the flow of fentanyl precursors abroad, and expressed his hope that the US and China can have a higher level of dialogue in the near future.” statement The lawmakers shared it on social platform X.
The Montana Republican landed in the Chinese capital on Thursday after discussions with major Vietnamese leaders, as shown in his social media updates and the latest in the US embassy in Beijing.
Before the trip, his office announced that he was working closely with the White House to promote President Trump's first American agenda.
Daines, who has executive experience in China, acted as a liaison during Trump's first term, when tariffs were a serious concern.
Maoze, a spokeswoman for the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said that China welcomed Daines and believed that “stable, sound and sustainable development of China-US relations is in the common interest of the two people and is in line with the general expectations of the international community.”
Tensions between the US and China escalated following the implementation of a 20% tariff on Chinese goods. This led China to respond to 15% tariffs on American agricultural products last week.
The US has criticized China for not taking sufficient action to curb the export of precursor materials for fentanyl, a powerful opioid linked to the deaths of the country's tens of thousands of people.
The Associated Press contributed.
