Beyond the symbolism and staged diplomacy, President Donald Trump's recent Beijing trip appears to have produced few measurable outcomes. With a September White House visit by President Xi Jinping already announced, work must start now on a key issue that received little attention in May: China’s role in the global fentanyl trade.

The problem is not that fentanyl was overlooked entirely. It is that, based on the public readouts, Xi made only limited commitments to curb the flow of chemicals from Chinese firms that fuel illicit fentanyl production.

The status quo is not a neutral outcome. It is a relief to Beijing and a loss of leverage for Washington.

Curbing fentanyl use is a matter of life and death

Approximately 70,000 Americans continue to die from drug overdoses each year – one every seven minutes. More than half of those deaths are driven by synthetic opioids like fentanyl.

Americans suffering from the opioid epidemic need the Trump administration to take immediate action. President Trump must use Xi’s September visit to secure a concrete agreement to stem the flow of precursor chemicals from China.

Failing to deliver results in the next round of talks will have implications for ongoing efforts to address overdose deaths across the United States.

There has been measurable progress in reducing fatal fentanyl overdoses in recent years, progress that began under the previous administration. In 2024........

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