(Bloomberg) -- Talks between the US and China on trade and other issues are stuck at lower levels, people familiar with the matter said, with both sides talking past each other and failing to agree on the best way to proceed.
While representatives from the two countries have had contact, officials in Beijing say the US hasn’t outlined detailed steps they expect from China on fentanyl in order to have the tariffs lifted, according to the people, who asked not to be identified. The second wave of duties imposed last week took working-level officials on both sides by surprise.
President Donald Trump’s team rejects the assertion that it hasn’t given clear demands on fentanyl, pointing to messages the White House has sent to China through diplomats in Washington, including Ambassador Xie Feng, according to a person familiar with the matter.
Those included asking China to stop sending chemicals to produce the drug to Mexico, use the death penalty for smugglers and order the People’s Daily newspaper to run a front-page article condemning the fentanyl trade, the person said. The official mouthpiece of the Communist Party generally reserves that space for coverage of President Xi Jinping.
The disagreements between the two sides — including on whether clear demands have been given — represents a fundamental mismatch in how Trump and Xi do diplomacy. While the US leader has personally negotiated on trade with counterparts from Canada and Mexico, protocol in Beijing typically requires most details to be sorted out before Xi gets on the phone with Trump.
Xi and Trump haven’t spoken since both leaders pledged to retain “strategic communication channels” in a phone call days before the Republican took office, even though the US president said in early February that another conversation would soon take place. A person familiar with the White House thinking said no planning for an in-person meeting between the two leaders is currently taking place.
A White House official said the US has made its expectations clear to China. Treasury, and Commerce Department didn’t respond to requests for comment. China’s commerce and finance ministries didn’t reply to requests for comment.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning accused the US of using fentanyl as a “pretext” to hike tariffs twice at a briefing in Beijing on Tuesday. “If the US wants to solve problems, it should consult with China on the basis of equality and mutual respect,” she said, adding that Beijing had no information on a possible meeting between Xi and Trump.