The U.S. side using the fentanyl issue as an excuse to impose tariffs on Chinese imports will undermine the foundation of China-U.S. counter-narcotics cooperation, Chinese Consul General in San Francisco Zhang Jianmin said on Saturday.
Zhang made the remarks while speaking with the San Francisco Chronicle on the tariff war and fentanyl issue.
Zhang pointed out that China imposed controls over its manufacturing, sale, use and export of fentanyl in 2019.
However, the U.S. side has used the fentanyl issue as an excuse to impose tariffs on Chinese imports, he said, stressing that there would be no winner from trade war.
Zhang said the U.S. approach will harm the interests of the U.S. West Coast, which relies a lot on external trade, adding that the tariff war will ultimately harm ordinary people the most.
Zhang emphasized that it is easy to blame others for one’s own problem, but the fentanyl crisis in the U.S. is not caused by China.
He said it is unacceptable that China’s kindness has been met with the punishment of higher tariffs and it is deeply offensive to the Chinese people, while urging the U.S. side to come back to reason and try to solve the problem through a mutually respectful dialogue.