China Welcomes US Senator Steve Daines' Visit Amid Tariff War With Trump

Beijing: The Chinese Foreign Ministry on Friday said the country welcomes U.S. Senator Steve Daines’s visit to Beijing as the two countries swap tariff threats and harsh words over each others' handling of the illegal trade in fentanyl.

Daines, a Republican from Montana, arrived in the Chinese capital on Thursday after meeting top leaders in Vietnam, according to social media posts by him and the U.S. Embassy in Beijing.

Daines said on X earlier this week that he would be talking with Chinese officials about curbing the production and distribution of fentanyl and “the need to reduce the trade deficit and ensure fair market access for our Montana farmers, ranchers and producers.”

Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning gave no details when asked about his remarks, but added that “China always believes that China and the U.S. should address their respective concerns through dialogue and consultation on the basis of equality and mutual respect.”

U.S.-China tensions have spiked as the U.S. imposed 20% duties on Chinese goods, drawing retaliatory tariffs of 15% on U.S. farm goods from China this past week.

Also Read: Full Blown AI War: US Bans China's DeepSeek In Commerce Department

The U.S. accuses China of doing too little to stop the export of precursor materials for fentanyl, a highly potent opiate blamed for tens of thousands of deaths in the U.S.

Separately, Mao rejected the U.S. sanctions against a Chinese oil refinery for links with Iran, urging Washington to “stop interfering in and undermining normal trade cooperation.”

On Thursday, the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) announced sanctions targeting the Shandong Shouguang Luqing Petrochemical Co., Ltd (Luqing Petrochemical) and its chief executive officer for allegedly purchasing millions of dollars worth of Iranian crude oil.

At the briefing, Mao said China was ready to work with Japan and South Korea to advance cooperation in various fields, such as climate change, economy and trade, public health and aging society.

Her remarks came as the foreign ministers of the three countries gathered for the first time in nearly a year and a half for a trilateral meeting in Tokyo, where they are expected to coordinate on a potential trilateral summit later this year.

Mao also condemned the Taiwanese cabinet’s nomination of Japan's former army chief Shigeru Iwasaki as one of its political consultants and said Beijing has lodged a protest with Japan.

Commentators suggested the rare nomination of a former military chief reflected Taiwan’s intent to seek closer security cooperation with Japan in the face of growing threats posed by China.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by Republic and is published from a syndicated feed.)