China today called on the US to stop blaming it for the fentanyl crisis and condemned the “unjustified tariffs“ imposed by Washington over this bilateral dispute, Agence France-Presse reported, BTA reported.
Beijing's comments come a day after the two leading world powers announced an agreement to drastically reduce the punitive tariffs they impose on each other for 90 days.
The additional tariffs imposed by the US on Chinese goods, in addition to those previously in place, reached 145 percent and will be reduced to 30 percent.
The remaining 30 percent includes 20 percent applied by US President Donald Trump to pressure Beijing to combat fentanyl trafficking. This powerful synthetic opioid is responsible for the deaths of tens of thousands of Americans each year.
US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said yesterday that Washington and Beijing would work “constructively” on the issue of fentanyl, some of the chemical precursors for which are produced in China.
Asked today about the prospects for dialogue on the issue, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Lin Jiang said that China was showing goodwill but was not to blame for the crisis.
“The US ignored China's goodwill and unjustifiably imposed tariffs on fentanyl. This seriously undermines the Sino-US dialogue and cooperation in the fight against drugs and seriously harms China's interests," the spokesman said.
“If the US sincerely wants to cooperate with China, it should stop slandering and blaming Beijing, and start a dialogue on the basis of equality, respect and mutual benefit“, Lin Jiang said at a regular press conference.
The US has criticized China for not doing enough to combat the illegal production and export of precursors for the production of fentanyl.
Chinese authorities have consistently denied these allegations and in recent months have detailed the measures they have taken to prevent any illegal trade in these substances.
In addition, the Chinese Foreign Ministry said today that “some world powers are obsessed with the idea that might makes right“ – a reference to the United States a day after the two countries decided to reduce tariffs they had imposed on each other.
The country in question “uses tariffs as a weapon to intimidate other countries“, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi told a forum gathering representatives of China and Latin American countries in Beijing, before urging participants to “unite to protect our legitimate and equal rights and interests“.