Washington (CNN) President Donald Trump on Wednesday praised the potential for capital punishment in China against "distributors and pushers" of fentanyl -- an opioid 50 to 100 times more powerful than morphine.

"One of the very exciting things to come out of my meeting with President Xi of China is his promise to me to criminalize the sale of deadly Fentanyl coming into the United States. It will now be considered a 'controlled substance.' This could be a game changer on what is [...] considered to be the worst and most dangerous, addictive and deadly substance of them all," Trump tweeted.

"Last year over 77,000 people died from Fentanyl. If China cracks down on this 'horror drug,' using the Death Penalty for distributors and pushers, the results will be incredible!" he added.

During the G20 summit in Buenos Aires last week, Chinese President Xi Jinping agreed to reclassify fentanyl as a "controlled substance," which means individuals in China who sell fentanyl to the US "will be subject to China's maximum penalty under the law," according to a statement from the White House.

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