ISTANBUL

China on Thursday said the fentanyl issue is a "US problem, not China's," following US President Donald Trump's claims that China will impose the death penalty for fentanyl crimes.

Foreign Ministry spokesman Lin Jian told a news conference that Beijing has "repeatedly made clear that fentanyl is the US problem, not China's.”

"It is the US responsibility to solve the issue," said Lin, adding that "despite the good will China has shown, the US wrongly slapped fentanyl tariffs on Chinese imports."

Trump on Wednesday said he believes China soon will give the death penalty to fentanyl producers.

Tariffs citing fentanyl smuggling dealt a "heavy blow" to China's "dialogue and cooperation" with the US on drug control, and "gravely hurt China's interests," Lin added.

"If the US sincerely wants to cooperate with China," he said, it needs to keep up a dialogue with Beijing based on "objective facts."