China says it only has ‘limited’ cooperation with US on fentanyl
China denies that it is the source of most of the drug entering the United States illegally.
China and the United States have only “limited” cooperation in stopping fentanyl smuggling, a Chinese narcotics official was quoted as saying on Tuesday, after complaints China wasn’t doing enough to help fight an opioid crisis in the US.
US officials say China is the main source of illicit fentanyl and fentanyl-related substances that are trafficked into the US, much of it through international mail. China denies that most of the illicit fentanyl entering the US originates in China.
US President Donald Trump last month accused Chinese President Xi Jinping of failing to meet his promises to crack down on the deluge of fentanyl and fentanyl analogues flowing into the US. China labelled that “blatant slander”.
Fentanyl is a cheap, relatively easy-to-synthesise opioid painkiller 50 times more potent than heroin that has played a major role in a devastating US opioid crisis.
The dispute over fentanyl comes as the US is in the middle of a major trade dispute with China.
Liu Yuejin, Vice Commissioner of the China National Narcotics Control Commission, told a news conference that China was cracking down on illicit fentanyl production, state television reported.
“The National Narcotics Control report states that looking at cases, counter-narcotics law enforcement departments from China and the United States have for many years maintained a good cooperative relationship,” the report cited Liu as saying.
“But cooperation on investigating and prosecuting fentanyl-related substances is extremely limited.”
Since 2012, the US has only reported “clues” on six fentanyl-related smuggling cases to China, with only three of these cases successfully cracked, the report added.
Since May 1 of this year, when China tightened controls on fentanyl-related substances, China has not yet discovered a single fentanyl-related smuggling case, Liu said.
Liu reiterated previous government denials that China is the source of most of the fentanyl smuggled into the US.
China has told the US it needs to get its house in order when it comes to tackling fentanyl abuse and should do more to reduce demand.
The US Treasury last month imposed sanctions on three Chinese men accused of illegally trafficking fentanyl, acting three weeks after Trump accused China of reneging on pledges to stem the flood of the highly addictive synthetic opioid into the US.
The National Institute of Drug Abuse reported earlier this year that 130 people die every day in the US after overdosing on opioids, which include prescription pain relievers, heroin and synthetic drugs such as fentanyl.