China rejects US economic sanctions over fentanyl crisis: ‘They are trying to blame us for their own problems’

 

Tensions between China and the United States over the fentanyl crisis continue to escalate. On Thursday, Beijing expressed its “dissatisfaction” and “firm opposition” following the inclusion of 17 Chinese individuals and companies on the Treasury Department’s so-called “blacklist.” The message of rejection came through the Chinese embassy in Mexico, just a day after President Andrés Manuel López Obrador called for “a truce” between the world powers and insisted that cooperation against drug trafficking should prevail over the exchange of reproaches and accusations. “The U.S. has imposed new sanctions on Chinese companies and individuals and has attempted to blame China for its own problem with fentanyl, with the intention to mislead the public and deflect the blame for its inaction,” the diplomatic representation said in a statement.