Fentanyl, mayhaps?

Dem trade routes, though

https://www.zerohedge.com/news/2019-04-01/beijing-again-promises-fentanyl-crackdown-latest-trade-concession

I read this and it perked my almonds a little bit, Anons. Could be a fentanyl negotiation has been taking place in the trade deal meetings between Xi and Trump.

Beijing Again Promises Fentanyl Crackdown In Latest Trade "Concession"

Mon, 04/01/2019 - 23:40

As Beijing tries to convince Washington to lift all of the trade war-inspired tariffs on Chinese goods as part of a sweeping trade accord, it has offered two concessions on Monday as trade czar Liu He heads to the US for another round of talks. China is reportedly planning to extend a suspension of retaliatory auto tariffs imposed last year during the trade debacle, and reiterating a promise made by President Xi's during his meeting with Trump in Buenos Aires late last year to tighten controls of the deadly synthetic opioid fentanyl.

Though neither of the purported concessions are anything new, Beijing is hoping they will help foster a "positive atmosphere" for talks this week. Beijing initially scrapped the 25% tariff on vehicles as a tit-for-tat measure on Jan. 1, after the White House delayed a planned tariff increase from 10% to 25% on $200 billion of Chinese goods, per BBG.

Beginning on May 1, Beijing said it will change the categorization of fentanyl to make it more difficult to export, as both sides try to keep the momentum going as trade talks enter their final stretch.

Chinese officials also pledged to tighten regulation on fentanyl from next month, a promise President Xi Jinping already made to President Donald Trump at a December meeting in Argentina. The inclusion of the drug as a controlled substance in a category of non-medicinal narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances will start May 1, according to the China National Narcotics Control Commission.

The moves signal China is trying to keep momentum in trade talks going as they enter what could be the final stretch before Trump and Xi are presented with a text to finalize or sign. Beijing is determined to prevent an escalation of the frictions that have hurt its economy and roiled markets, even as enforcement measures remain a sticking point in negotiations.

China also promised to crack down on criminal networks responsible for trafficking fentanyl. American law enforcement agencies have blamed these networks for causing the surge in opioid overdose deaths in recent years, as fentanyl is increasingly used to lace heroin sold on the street.