President vows to make the opioid crisis the 'first question' for Xi Jinping at high-stakes meeting, citing a new smuggling route.
CaliToday (24/10/2025): President Donald Trump confirmed on Thursday, October 23, that his administration believes China is actively smuggling fentanyl into the United States by routing the deadly opioid through Venezuela, a move seen as a deliberate effort to bypass U.S. and Mexican controls.
Speaking to reporters, the president was unambiguous when asked about the new smuggling route.
"Yes, they are. And paying a 20% tariff for fentanyl," Mr. Trump said, linking the smuggling directly to his ongoing trade war with Beijing.
President Trump declared that the issue would be a primary focus of his upcoming bilateral meeting with Chinese Communist Party (CCP) leader Xi Jinping next week. The meeting is scheduled for the end of the president's Asia tour, which begins on October 24.
"The first question I will ask them is about fentanyl," Mr. Trump stated emphatically.
The president argued that his economic pressure campaign—which includes tariffs set to rise an additional 100% on November 1 if no comprehensive trade deal is reached—makes the illicit fentanyl trade an economically non-viable enterprise for Beijing.
"They make $100 million selling fentanyl into our country... but they lose $100 billion because of the 20% tariff. So it's not a good trade," Mr. Trump reasoned, framing the drug crisis as a central component of the trade dispute. "They have to pay a very big price for it, and I don't think they want to be doing it."
This hard-line stance is built upon a February 1 executive order the president signed, which formally imposed the initial tariffs on China for its "central role" in the fentanyl crisis.
The executive order was scathing in its assessment, noting that after years of diplomatic discussions, Chinese officials "still have not taken the decisive actions necessary to stop the flow of precursor chemicals."
The order went further, accusing the Chinese government of not only failing to act but of actively "subsidizing and incentivizing" chemical companies to produce and export fentanyl precursors. It also alleged that the Chinese state "aids and abets" transnational criminal organizations in laundering the proceeds from this deadly trade.
"The CCP is not without the ability to robustly curtail the global illicit opioid pandemic; they simply do not wish to do so," the executive order stated.
The U.S. has long identified China as the primary source of the lethal drug and its chemical ingredients. Earlier this year, FBI Director Kash Patel told lawmakers he had personally engaged with counter-narcotics agencies in China, urging them to restrict the export of the precursor chemicals.
In an apparent response to this pressure, China's Ministry of Public Security added seven chemicals to its export control list on August 1, with the restrictions taking effect on September 1. Three of those chemicals are known as primary ingredients for manufacturing fentanyl.
However, the Trump administration's new accusation involving a Venezuela route suggests these measures have been wholly insufficient.
In recent weeks, President Trump has matched this diplomatic and economic pressure with military force, authorizing nine separate attacks on vessels suspected of smuggling narcotics.
"Narco-terrorists who seek to bring poison to our shores will find no safe haven in this entire hemisphere," War Secretary Pete Hegseth declared in a post regarding the most recent strike on October 21.
The administration's accusations are bolstered by U.S. intelligence and indictments indicating that Chinese nationals are deeply embedded within Mexican cartel operations. One prominent case involves Chinese fugitive Zhi Dong Zhang, who was recently captured in Cuba. Zhang is accused of directing a sophisticated cocaine and fentanyl trafficking network, overseeing both Chinese and Mexican members of the smuggling ring.
The president's confirmation of the Venezuela route adds a new, volatile geopolitical dimension to the fentanyl crisis, setting the stage for a dramatic and high-stakes confrontation when he meets with Xi Jinping next week.