Beijing, China - Officials in China on Friday confirmed and welcomed a visit to Beijing by Republican Senator Steve Daines, who vowed to raise trade tensions and fentanyl smuggling in talks.

Daines, who represents Montana and is a strong supporter of President Donald Trump, has extensive business experience in China and Hong Kong, and has said he wants to engage in dialogue with the Chinese.

"We know it's the Mexican cartels that are producing the fentanyl, but those precursors, the raw materials, come from China," he told Fox News on Monday. "I will be talking with the Chinese leadership about what they can do."

"They can do a whole lot more to shut down the flow of these chemicals that go to Mexico and then fentanyl comes to the United States," he said.

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China's foreign ministry and Embassy Chargé d'Affaires Anny Vu responded by welcoming Daines to Beijing. He arrived after having spent a number of days in Vietnam earlier this week meeting with high-level government officials.

"We welcome Senator Steve Daines’s visit to China," said Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Mao Ning during a daily press briefing on Friday.

"We also welcome Americans from all walks of life, including members of the Congress, to visit China," she said.

"China all along believes that the steady, sound and sustainable development of China-U.S. relations serves the common interests of the two peoples and meets the expectation of the international community."