Overview
- Two people told Reuters that FBI Director Kash Patel traveled to Beijing last week, arriving Friday for about a day and meeting Chinese officials on Saturday.
- China’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson said he was not aware of the visit, and U.S. and Chinese government offices did not respond to requests for comment.
- The trip followed last month’s Trump–Xi meeting where U.S. tariffs on Chinese goods were cut to 10% and Xi was said to pledge strong efforts to curb fentanyl flows.
- Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said implementation details will be worked through a new bilateral working group, with no indication Patel discussed that mechanism.
- China’s Commerce Ministry announced plans to update its precursor-chemical catalogue and require export licenses for certain shipments to the United States, Canada and Mexico.