Since President Trump took office for his second term in January, there have been no high-level meetings between U.S. officials and their Chinese counterparts, despite the ongoing tariff disputes between the world’s two largest economies.
Amidst this lack of official dialogue, Senator Steve Daines from Montana has stepped into the role of intermediary. On Saturday, he met with Vice Premier He Lifeng, who is responsible for many economic matters in China, and he was scheduled to meet Premier Li Qiang, the country’s second-highest official, on Sunday.
In a conversation with The New York Times following his meeting with Mr. He, Mr. Daines, a Republican member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, stated that he urged China to take decisive steps to stop the export of chemical precursors used to manufacture fentanyl.
“I had a discussion with President Trump shortly before my visit, and he was glad I would convey his ‘America First’ message and ensure that Chinese leaders understood the seriousness of the fentanyl crisis and the role China can play in halting the flow of precursors to Mexican cartels,” Mr. Daines remarked.
Chinese officials have indicated that the fentanyl crisis stems from the U.S.’s inability to manage demand for the drug, asserting that Beijing has implemented effective measures to limit the shipment of fentanyl and its precursors. Earlier this month, China’s cabinet released a report outlining its fentanyl-related initiatives, which Mr. Daines mentioned is under review by American officials.
Mr. Daines expressed his intention to pave the way for a meeting between President Trump and Xi Jinping, China’s top leader. “This visit serves as a preliminary step to arrange an essential meeting between President Xi and President Trump — the specifics of when and where are still uncertain,” he stated.
While the White House has not officially designated Mr. Daines to act on its behalf, he is considered one of Trump’s key supporters in Congress. Notably, he was the first Republican senator to endorse Trump’s 2023 bid for a second term when many in the party were hesitant about his return to the White House.
“Given Senator Daines’s close ties to Donald Trump, China is looking to gain insight into Trump’s policy intentions regarding China — specifically whether he still desires a deal and what that might entail,” said Wu Xinbo, dean of the Institute of International Studies at Fudan University in Shanghai.
Additionally, Mr. Wu noted that China’s intention is for Senator Daines to convey that Beijing is keen to engage in dialogue with the U.S. to de-escalate rising tensions.
President Trump has enacted 20 percent tariffs on Chinese goods and has hinted at the possibility of implementing further tariffs. China is eager to prevent the imposition of additional tariffs.
“There is a brief window of opportunity for the U.S. and China to engage before early April, and Senator Daines’s trip could be crucial in that regard,” Mr. Wu commented.
Mr. Daines clarified that he is not primarily focused on tariffs during his discussions with China, as the Office of the United States Trade Representative is still conducting a policy review.
Mr. Trump has stated his intention to meet with Mr. Xi, though he has not provided specific details. Meanwhile, China has remained silent regarding the potential for a meeting. However, the usual preliminary contacts between lower-level administration officials that typically occur before such meetings have been absent throughout Trump’s second term thus far.
Mr. Xi is the ultimate decision-maker in China, especially concerning foreign policy, making summits with U.S. presidents especially pivotal in shaping the future of bilateral relations. The two leaders convened in 2017, with Mr. Xi visiting Mar-a-Lago in Florida and Mr. Trump making a trip to China.
The current lack of engagement from Washington has caused some uncertainty in Beijing regarding Mr. Trump’s genuine interest in meeting Mr. Xi, according to Yun Sun, director of the China program at the Stimson Center in Washington.
“They perceive his swift changes in position on various issues,” Ms. Sun explained. “This situation leads to a sense of fatalism among the Chinese, prompting them to prepare for the worst-case scenario — that has been their conclusion.”
During his visit to Beijing, Mr. Daines also raised concerns about China’s restrictions on imports, in addition to tariffs. He did not disclose specific details but noted that politicians from Montana have long argued that China’s sporadic bans on beef imports from the state are unfair trade practices rather than genuine health concerns related to mad cow disease, as claimed by Beijing.
Mr. Daines spent six years living in southern China during the 1990s while working as a project manager for Procter & Gamble, the American consumer goods giant.
This weekend’s trip marks Mr. Daines’s sixth visit to China since his Senate election in 2014, making him one of the few congressional members who have continued visiting the country despite the deterioration in U.S.-China relations.
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