John L. Thornton China Center
The leadership is in agreement. They are all very angry [with the proposed deal]. The domestic environment is changing for them. They can lose the deal, but they can’t be seen as too soft on the U.S.
Dating back to the Obama administration, the U.S. argument has been that China has a reputational challenge in the United States, where it more often is associated with problems for American people than solutions. Curbing the flow of fentanyl provides an opportunity for Beijing to show it is helping to solve problems for Americans, rather than be the source of them.
On April 11, Jamie Horsley spoke on a panel about China’s Belt and Road Initiative and Asian development during a session of the American Bar Association’s Section of International Law 2019 Annual Conference, held in Washington, D.C.