Media: FBI director visits China to discuss fentanyl, law enforcement

FBI Director Kash Patel visited China last week to discuss fentanyl and law enforcement issues, according to two sources familiar with the trip, following a summit between U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping in which both leaders hailed a “consensus” on the matter.

A source briefed on Patel’s trip said he arrived in Beijing on November 7 and remained for roughly a day, holding talks with Chinese officials on November 8, Caliber.Az reports, citing Reuters.

The visit was not officially announced by either the U.S. or Chinese authorities and is being reported by Reuters for the first time.

China’s Ministry of Public Security, its Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and the U.S. embassy in Beijing did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

During last month’s summit, Trump halved tariffs on Chinese goods imposed as a penalty over fentanyl flows to 10%, after reaching an agreement with Xi. The U.S. president said Xi would work “very hard to stop the flow” of fentanyl, a deadly synthetic opioid that is the leading cause of American overdose deaths.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said details of the new consensus would be worked out through a bilateral working group. It is unclear whether Patel’s visit touched on the new mechanism.

The move marks a shift for Trump administration officials, who had previously insisted punitive measures would remain until China demonstrated action against fentanyl supply chains. Chinese officials, however, defend their record on fentanyl, stating they have already taken extensive steps to regulate precursor chemicals used to produce the drug, and accuse Washington of using the issue as “blackmail.”

The Xi-Trump agreement extended beyond fentanyl, encompassing the resumption of U.S. soybean purchases by China. Beijing also agreed to pause export curbs on rare earths—essential elements for many modern technologies—that were announced in October.

By Aghakazim Guliyev