One of the many reasons for the U.S.-China trade war is President Trump holding Xi Jinping accountable for the fentanyl precursor chemicals that are flowing from China to Mexican drug cartels.
The cartels then manufacture fentanyl and distribute it in the U.S., killing over 100,000 Americans per year. This was an issue during Trump’s first term, when China agreed to crack down on these exports, and here we are nine years later, and the chemicals are still flowing.
China is a totalitarian state that runs a full digital surveillance system where literally every minute of every citizen’s life is being filmed and analyzed with AI.
The state can achieve a 100% conviction rate against criminals while also cracking down on even the slightest dissent. With his massive AI and data databases, secret police, and spies, Xi Jinping can control virtually every aspect of life in China, yet he claims to be unaware that Chinese chemical companies are selling fentanyl precursors to Mexican drug cartels.
President Trump has accused China of “actively sustaining and expanding the business of poisoning our citizens” and stated that “PRC officials have failed to follow through with the decisive actions needed to stem the flow of” fentanyl and precursor chemicals. In early February 2025, he imposed a 10 percent tariff on all Chinese goods, accusing Beijing of allowing fentanyl and its precursors to be shipped to the United States.
The tariffs have since escalated, reaching 127.2 percent in early May 2025. The White House has been explicit that Chinese officials have “failed” to stop the flow of precursor chemicals, used to make fentanyl, to criminal cartels.
Law enforcement agencies and government officials in the U.S. agree most of the precursor chemicals used to make street fentanyl flow from industrial companies in China to drug gangs in Mexico.
China is still the principal supplier of these precursors for fentanyl after Chinese trafficking networks switched from supplying finished fentanyl to precursor chemicals.
China has pushed back strongly, with officials saying “The fentanyl issue is a flimsy excuse to raise U.S. tariffs on Chinese imports” and that “We stand ready for practical cooperation with the US based on equality and mutual respect. That said, we firmly oppose the US pressuring, threatening and blackmailing China under the pretext of the fentanyl issue”.
Under Biden, Xi Jinping made limited concessions, including the implementation of new regulations allegedly targeting money laundering by drug organizations and scheduling three fentanyl precursor chemicals.
The Biden administration called this a “valuable step forward,” pointing to a 21% national drop in fatal overdoses from fentanyl since June 2023.
Both the Biden administration and Beijing claimed that this cooperation was already yielding results even before Trump took office. But these claims are misleading.
Hellbound and Down 