U.S. and China arrest 5 in joint drug smuggling investigation ahead of Trump trip

It is also the latest headway officials in both countries have made in their cooperation on cracking down on cross-border drug operations. Last month, the U.S. handed over a Chinese fugitive suspected of drug-related crimes to Beijing in a rare extradition after the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency acted on intel provided by Chinese narcotics officials.

It is unclear whether the two operations were related.

CCTV said in its report on Monday that the coordinated arrests of the five suspects were carried out in early April.

“The successful resolution of this case marks another major achievement in deepening practical cooperation between Chinese and U.S. drug enforcement agencies, demonstrating both countries’ strong commitment to jointly combating drug-related crimes,” it added.

The two countries have sparred over the issue of the flow of drugs into the U.S., particularly fentanyl. Washington has accused Beijing of failing to do enough to stop the sale of precursor chemicals, an allegation China has dismissed.

China has pledged to crack down on the fentanyl networks, and following his October meeting with Xi in South Korea, Trump agreed to lower his fentanyl-related tariffs on Chinese goods to 10% from 20%.

“As major global powers, the joint action of China and the U.S. is a deterrent to global criminals,” Yu Haibin, deputy director-general of the Narcotics Control Bureau, told NBC News in an exclusive interview earlier this year.

“If we do not join forces, criminals will be more than happy because criminals do cooperate,” he said.

While the U.S. and China are currently working together to crack down on fentanyl and other drugs, that cooperation has been suspended in the past, and Yu said it continues to be affected by the overall state of U.S.-China relations.

“Currently, the biggest obstacle is the 10% fentanyl tariff,” said Yu, who is also deputy secretary-general of the National Narcotics Control Commission. “We hope the U.S. removes this obstacle so we can devote ourselves wholeheartedly to global drug governance.”

Trump’s state visit from Wednesday to Friday, which was previously rescheduled due to the Iran war, was officially confirmed by Beijing on Monday.

Xi and Trump will hold in-depth discussions on “major issues concerning China–U.S. relations as well as world peace and development,” Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun said at a regular news briefing.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said he would travel to Japan and South Korea on Monday ahead of the summit.

He will meet with Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi on Tuesday in Tokyo and Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng on Wednesday in Seoul, he said on X.

Mithil Aggarwal reported from Hong Kong, and Janis Mackey Frayer from Beijing.