Exclusive-FBI chief visited China to talk fentanyl, law enforcement, sources say

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By Laurie Chen and Antoni Slodkowski

BEIJING (Reuters) -FBI Director Kash Patel visited China last week to discuss fentanyl and law enforcement issues, two people familiar with his trip said, following a summit between the U.S. and Chinese presidents where both hailed “consensus” on the matter.

A person briefed on Patel’s trip said the director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation flew into Beijing on Friday and stayed for about a day. He held talks with Chinese officials on Saturday, the person added.

Patel’s visit to Beijing was not officially announced by either the U.S. or China and is being reported by Reuters for the first time.

Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Lin Jian said on Monday that he was not aware of the trip. China’s Ministry of Public Security and the U.S. embassy in Beijing did not respond to requests for comment.

China’s Commerce Ministry announced on Monday that the country will make adjustments to the catalogue of drug-related precursor chemicals and will require licenses for export of certain chemicals to the United States, Canada and Mexico.

U.S. President Donald Trump halved the tariffs on Chinese goods imposed as a punishment over the flow of fentanyl to 10% after reaching the agreement during last month’s talks with Chinese leader Xi Jinping.

Xi will work “very hard to stop the flow” of fentanyl, a deadly synthetic opioid that is the leading cause of American overdose deaths, Trump told reporters after the talks.

U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the details of the fresh consensus would be hashed out through a new bilateral working group. It was unclear whether Patel discussed the new mechanism during his Beijing visit.

The deal signalled a shift for Trump officials, who had insisted that punitive measures would remain in place until China proved it was cracking down on fentanyl supply chains.

Chinese officials vehemently defend their record on fentanyl, saying they have already taken extensive action to regulate precursor chemicals used to make the drug and accuse Washington of using the issue as “blackmail.”

The Xi-Trump deal went beyond fentanyl and included the resumption of U.S. soybean purchases by China.

For its part, Beijing agreed to pause export curbs unveiled in October on rare earths, elements with vital roles in many modern technologies.

(Reporting by Laurie Chen and Antono Slodowski in Beijing; Editing by Lincoln Feast and Neil Fullick)