A high-level meeting between the top U.S. homeland security official and his Chinese counterpart is giving Washington reason to hope that current talks may eventually help stem the flow of drugs such as fentanyl into the United States.
U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas met with Chinese Public Security Minister Wang Xiaohong in Vienna on Sunday for talks focused on stopping the spread of fentanyl and the chemicals used to make the powerful synthetic opioid.
A U.S. readout of the meeting with the People's Republic of China official described the talks as "candid and constructive," and senior officials told reporters Tuesday that there were signs progress is being made.
"This was a really productive set of meetings," a senior U.S. official told reporters, agreeing to brief them on the meeting under the condition of anonymity.
The official said the initial meeting between Mayorkas and Wang lasted about four hours, with discussions continuing over dinner.
The officials also said the two sides left Vienna with a commitment for scientists from the two countries to have further talks later this month to review "emerging trends" when it comes to the development and trade of the chemicals needed to manufacture fentanyl and other drugs.
Sunday's meeting in Vienna follows a virtual meeting last month between Mayorkas and Wang as well as a January 30 meeting of the U.S.-PRC Counternarcotics Working Group.
"There have been concrete specific actions," the senior U.S. official said Tuesday, explaining the guarded optimism.
"We saw the PRC take action with respect to particular companies. We know that they also shared information with the International Narcotics Board, which helps other countries also track actors and chemicals of concern," the official said.
"Ultimately, obviously, our goal is to stop the flow of precursor chemicals from the PRC to Mexico and then finished products up from Mexico to our country," the official said. "We are focused on the kind of the concrete work of the working group on specific steps that we can take that will help us advance those goals."
According to China's state-run Xinhua news agency, Chinese officials also described the meeting in Vienna as constructive but said Chinese officials were focused on U.S. visa restrictions for Chinese students.
The PRC's Wang told Mayorkas that the U.S should "stop harassing and interrogating Chinese students for no reason and ensure that Chinese citizens enjoy fair entry treatment and full dignity."
A second senior U.S. official who briefed reporters Monday acknowledged the Chinese officials raised concerns about current U.S. visa restrictions but declined to elaborate, saying the focus of the meeting was counternarcotics.
Sunday's meeting between Mayorkas and Wang in Vienna came two days after talks in Munich between U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi on a variety of issues — including Beijing's counternarcotic efforts and U.S. searches of Chinese nationals.
