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A top Republican lawmaker with close ties to President Donald Trump has met with one of China’s top economic officials ahead of a potential new wave of US tariffs on Chinese products.
Some shit you should know before you read: If you’re unaware, the United States currently has a 20% tariff (initially it was 10%) on a wide range of Chinese goods. This is part of President Trump’s broader push to reduce the trade deficit and pressure China over issues like intellectual property theft and fentanyl precursor exports. On April 2nd, the US is set to impose a new round of tariffs specifically targeting Chinese tech products, steel, and electric vehicles—an escalation that could further inflame trade tensions. In response to an initial 10% tariff, China hit back with a 15% tariff on key American exports, including agricultural goods like soybeans and pork, which disproportionately affect US farmers. Chinese officials have vowed to strike back harder if the US continues down this path, signaling they will match any future American tariffs with retaliatory measures of their own. A spokesperson for China’s foreign ministry said, “If the US has other intentions and insists on a tariff war, trade war or any other war, China will fight to the end.”
What’s going on now: In a surprising development, Senator Steve Daines (R-MT), a top Republican ally of President Donald Trump, met with China’s Premier Li Qiang and Vice Premier He Lifeng in Beijing over the weekend. This marked the first high-level talks between US and Chinese officials since Trump returned to the White House. Daines, who spent part of his business career in China and previously served as a liaison between Trump’s administration and China, stressed the value of direct talks, saying, “I’ve always believed in having constructive dialogue, and that has been the nature of all my visits to China over the course of many years.”
The primary focus of both meetings was the ongoing fentanyl crisis, which has become a central issue in US-China relations. A statement from the senator’s office noted that he “expressed President Trump’s continued demand that China interdict the flow of fentanyl precursors out of the country,” and voiced hope for continued diplomacy, stating that the US “can hold further high-level dialogue in the near future.”
On China’s side, Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning said China welcomed Daines’ visit and emphasized that “the stable, healthy and sustainable development of China-US relations is in the common interest of the two peoples and in line with the general expectations of the international community.”
