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Express Tribune
3 days ago
- Politics
- Express Tribune
China moves on fentanyl crackdown as tensions with US over tariffs persist
China has taken a series of actions in the past week on counter-narcotics, in a sign of cooperation with US demands for stronger action on the synthetic opioid fentanyl, a key irritant in the bilateral relationship. US President Donald Trump imposed 20% tariffs on Chinese imports in February over Beijing's alleged failure to curb the flow of precursor chemicals for fentanyl, which has caused nearly 450,000 US overdose deaths. Those tariffs have remained in effect despite a fragile trade truce reached in Geneva in May. Beijing has defended its drug control record and accused Washington of using fentanyl to "blackmail" China. Both sides were in a stalemate over the issue for months, despite China sending its vice public security minister to the Geneva talks. China has balked at some of Washington's demands which include publicising the crackdown on precursors on the front page of the Communist Party mouthpiece People's Daily, educating Party members and tightening regulation of specific chemicals, among other actions. On Thursday, China's State Security Ministry accused a "certain country" of "deliberately launching unwarranted attacks on China over the fentanyl issue", in a veiled swipe at the US. But last Friday, Beijing added two precursors to a list of controlled chemicals starting July 20, according to a government statement. The chemicals, 4-piperidone and 1-boc-4-piperidone, were "considered fundamental to resolving the fentanyl issue," raising hopes that the 20% tariffs could be eventually lifted, according to a source familiar with US government thinking. The move came after US Ambassador David Perdue had a rare meeting with China's Minister of Public Security Wang Xiaohong last Thursday in Beijing, at which Wang expressed willingness to work with Washington on drug control, according to a Chinese statement. China's Foreign Ministry said the action on precursors was an "independent measure" taken by Beijing in line with the UN Drug Convention and "demonstrates China's attitude of actively participating in global drug governance." Working-level conversations on fentanyl remain ongoing and Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping discussed the topic in a June 5 phone call. Chinese immigration officials seized 2.42 tons of drugs and arrested 262 suspects for drug smuggling so far this year, state media reported Thursday, as Beijing vowed to crack down on drug trafficking and "intensify anti-drug propaganda" in border areas and ports. In addition, Chinese officials announced on Wednesday they had prosecuted more than 1,300 people and arrested over 700 more nationwide for drug-related money laundering offences between January and May this year, a 2.1% year-on-year increase. Beijing will "cut off the criminal interest chain and destroy the economic foundation of drug crimes," Miao Shengming, a senior official at the Supreme People's Procuratorate said during a press conference. On Monday, a court in the southeastern province of Fujian handed a suspended death sentence to former drug control official Liu Yuejin for bribery, state media reported. Liu, a former director of the Ministry of Public Security's narcotics control bureau, was convicted of illegally receiving bribes worth over 121 million yuan ($17 million) between 1992 and 2020. The US Embassy in Beijing did not respond to a request for comment. The Chinese government statements did not mention the US. Chinese scholars acknowledge that fentanyl's central position in the US.-China trade war comes with a lot of political baggage for Beijing. "The US views the fentanyl issue as a sign of poor governance on China's part and has exerted pressure on China as a result, politicising the issue of drug control," said Liu Weidong, a US-China expert at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences. "This context is certain to influence China's approach to addressing the fentanyl issue."
The Independent
3 days ago
- Health
- The Independent
China to tighten controls on fentanyl-linked chemicals as US steps up pressure
China has announced stricter regulations on two chemicals used to manufacture fentanyl in a move that could signal progress on one of the most contentious issues in relations with the US. Starting 20 July, the Chinese government will place 4-piperidone and 1-Boc-4-piperidone under enhanced control as precursor substances for fentanyl, according to a joint statement from six state agencies. The two compounds are used to make fentanyl, a potent synthetic opioid blamed for fuelling the opioid epidemic in the US, where drug overdoses have led to the deaths of nearly 450,000 people, Reuters reported. The decision follows a rare meeting in Beijing between China's minister of public security Wang Xiaohong and new US ambassador David Perdue where they discussed cooperation on curbing drug trafficking. It also comes just weeks after a phone call between presidents Xi Jinping and Donald Trump, who has made fighting fentanyl a central policy issue. 'The move demonstrates China's sincerity in wanting to work with the United States on this issue,' Yun Sun, director of the China programme at the Stimson Center, a think tank in Washington, told the New York Times. Chinese officials reject claims that they are responsible for the fentanyl crisis in the US. 'We've repeatedly made it clear that fentanyl is the United States' problem, not China's. It's the United States' responsibility to solve the issue,' Guo Jiakun, a spokesperson for China's foreign ministry, said on Tuesday. 'China is one of the world's strictest countries on counternarcotics both in terms of policy and its implementation,' he said, according to the Global Times. ' The issue of fentanyl abuse does not exist in China. Besides, we've also fully promoted and deeply participated in the global governance of drug-related issues and carried out fruitful counternarcotics cooperation with other countries." Beijing has also criticised the US for maintaining punitive tariffs, originally imposed by the Trump administration in February, citing China's alleged inaction on fentanyl. The 20 per cent tariff was part of a broader trade war and remains in place despite a partial easing of other levies following a fragile truce agreed in Switzerland this May. China insists its latest measures are aligned with international conventions. 'The action on precursors was an independent measure taken by Beijing in line with the UN Drug Convention and demonstrates China's attitude of actively participating in global drug governance,' the foreign ministry said in a statement. As part of its ongoing crackdown on drugs, Chinese authorities said they have arrested 262 people for drug smuggling so far this year and confiscated 2.42 tonnes of narcotics. Additionally, over 1,300 people were prosecuted and more than 700 arrested between January and May for drug-related money laundering, a 2.1 per cent year-on-year increase. Miao Shengming, a senior official at the Supreme People's Procuratorate, the highest prosecutorial organ of China, pledged to 'cut off the criminal interest chain and destroy the economic foundation of drug crimes'. On Monday, a court in Fujian province handed a suspended death sentence to Liu Yuejin, a former senior narcotics official, for accepting bribes worth over £13m between 1992 and 2020. Meanwhile, the US has intensified its crackdown on financial networks supporting fentanyl trafficking. On Wednesday, the US Treasury sanctioned three Mexican financial institutions - CIBanco, Intercam Banco, and Vector Casa de Bolsa - for facilitating payments to Chinese suppliers, reported the Financial Times. These were the first actions under the Fend Off Fentanyl Act, passed last year to disrupt international fentanyl supply chains. 'These actions will effectively cut off the three institutions from doing business with US financial institutions,' said deputy treasury secretary Michael Faulkender. The Mexican finance ministry, however, said it had yet to receive evidence supporting the allegations. Vector rejected the charges, stating it had only engaged in transactions with legitimate companies. The other institutions were not immediately available for comment.
Asahi Shimbun
3 days ago
- Politics
- Asahi Shimbun
China takes action on key U.S. fentanyl demands
Packets of fentanyl mostly in powder form and methamphetamine, which U.S. Customs and Border Protection say they seized from a truck crossing into Arizona from Mexico, is on display during a news conference at the Port of Nogales, Arizona, on Jan. 31, 2019. (U.S. Customs and Border Protection/Handout via REUTERS) BEIJING-- China has taken a series of actions in the past week on counter-narcotics, in a sign of cooperation with U.S. demands for stronger action on the synthetic opioid fentanyl, a key irritant in the bilateral relationship. U.S. President Donald Trump imposed 20% tariffs on Chinese imports in February over Beijing's alleged failure to curb the flow of precursor chemicals for fentanyl, which has caused nearly 450,000 U.S. overdose deaths. Those tariffs have remained in effect despite a fragile trade truce reached in Geneva in May. Beijing has defended its drug control record and accused Washington of using fentanyl to 'blackmail' China. Both sides were in a stalemate over the issue for months, despite China sending its vice public security minister to the Geneva talks. China has balked at some of Washington's demands which include publicizing the crackdown on precursors on the front page of the Communist Party mouthpiece People's Daily, educating Party members and tightening regulation of specific chemicals, among other actions. On Thursday, China's State Security Ministry accused a 'certain country' of 'deliberately launching unwarranted attacks on China over the fentanyl issue', in a veiled swipe at the U.S. But last Friday, Beijing added two precursors to a list of controlled chemicals starting July 20, according to a government statement. The chemicals, 4-piperidone and 1-boc-4-piperidone, were 'considered fundamental to resolving the fentanyl issue,' raising hopes that the 20% tariffs could be eventually lifted, according to a source familiar with U.S. government thinking. The move came after U.S. Ambassador David Perdue had a rare meeting with China's Minister of Public Security Wang Xiaohong last Thursday in Beijing, at which Wang expressed willingness to work with Washington on drug control, according to a Chinese statement. China's Foreign Ministry said the action on precursors was an 'independent measure' taken by Beijing in line with the UN Drug Convention and 'demonstrates China's attitude of actively participating in global drug governance.' Working-level conversations on fentanyl remain ongoing and Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping discussed the topic in a June 5 phone call. Chinese immigration officials seized 2.42 tons of drugs and arrested 262 suspects for drug smuggling so far this year, state media reported Thursday, as Beijing vowed to crack down on drug trafficking and 'intensify anti-drug propaganda' in border areas and ports. In addition, Chinese officials announced on Wednesday they had prosecuted more than 1,300 people and arrested over 700 more nationwide for drug-related money laundering offences between January and May this year, a 2.1% year-on-year increase. Beijing will 'cut off the criminal interest chain and destroy the economic foundation of drug crimes,' Miao Shengming, a senior official at the Supreme People's Procuratorate said during a press conference. On Monday, a court in the southeastern province of Fujian handed a suspended death sentence to former drug control official Liu Yuejin for bribery, state media reported. Liu, a former director of the Ministry of Public Security's narcotics control bureau, was convicted of illegally receiving bribes worth over 121 million yuan ($17 million) between 1992 and 2020. The U.S. Embassy in Beijing did not respond to a request for comment. The Chinese government statements did not mention the U.S. Chinese scholars acknowledge that fentanyl's central position in the U.S.-China trade war comes with a lot of political baggage for Beijing. 'The U.S. views the fentanyl issue as a sign of poor governance on China's part and has exerted pressure on China as a result, politicizing the issue of drug control,' said Liu Weidong, a U.S.-China expert at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences. 'This context is certain to influence China's approach to addressing the fentanyl issue.'
New York Times
4 days ago
- Business
- New York Times
China Tightens Controls on Fentanyl but Calls It a U.S. Problem
China has strengthened controls on two chemicals that can be used to make fentanyl, its latest step in addressing an issue that has become tangled in its broader trade dispute with the United States. The Trump administration has accused Beijing of not doing enough to stem the flow of fentanyl, a powerful synthetic opioid, into the United States, where it kills tens of thousands of Americans each year. Earlier this year, the administration cited the issue as it imposed tariffs totaling 20 percent on Chinese goods. This week, six Chinese government agencies said they had added two chemicals, 4-piperidone and 1-Boc-4-piperidone, to a list of so-called precursor chemicals, or base ingredients, for fentanyl that would be more strictly controlled, according to a joint statement. The move 'demonstrates China's sincerity in wanting to work with the United States on this issue,' said Yun Sun, the director of the China program at the Stimson Center, a Washington research institute. The new restrictions, which take effect on July 20, were announced days after China's minister of public security, Wang Xiaohong, met with David Perdue, the recently appointed U.S. ambassador to China, in Beijing last week to discuss efforts to fight drug trafficking. The United States has accused Chinese producers of supplying drug cartels with the ingredients to make fentanyl, which the cartels smuggle into the United States. China has maintained, however, that it is not responsible for America's fentanyl crisis, which it says is rooted in the abuse of prescription painkillers and ineffective regulation in that country. 'We've repeatedly made it clear that fentanyl is the United States' problem, not China's,' Guo Jiakun, a spokesman for China's Foreign Ministry, said on Tuesday. 'It's the United States' responsibility to solve the issue.' The tariffs imposed by the Trump administration over fentanyl are still in place, even though overall levies on Chinese goods came down to 55 percent from 145 percent or more in May, after the two countries agreed to a truce in their trade war. Chinese restrictions on its exports of crucial minerals recently threatened to derail that détente, but President Trump and China's top leader, Xi Jinping, agreed to revive trade talks during a call this month. The two leaders also discussed the possibility of meeting in China. Wu Xinbo, the dean of the Institute of International Studies at Fudan University in Shanghai, said that China would like to host Mr. Trump, but that it depended on progress made on disputes over trade and issues like fentanyl. Another option, Mr. Wu said, could be for the two leaders to meet on the sidelines of the annual Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in Seoul, which starts in late October. Mr. Xi usually attends the summit, and American presidents have typically done so, but neither leader has said whether he will participate in this one. Berry Wang contributed research.
Time of India
5 days ago
- Business
- Time of India
China tightens fentanyl controls in goodwill gesture to US
China moved to tighten controls over two chemicals that can be used to make fentanyl, in an apparent olive branch to the US that may help maintain their fragile trade truce. Authorities added two previously unclassified precursors to a list of Class Two chemicals, according to a joint statement by six govt departments on Monday. The label will subject the substances, 4-piperidone and 1-boc-4-piperidone, to tougher supervision starting July 20. One of the chemicals, 4-piperidone, is regulated in the US as a precursor to fentanyl. The other substance, 1-boc-4-piperidone, can be used to make a precursor for the narcotic. The announcement followed a meeting between China's minister of public security Wang Xiaohong and US Ambassador David Perdue in Beijing last week. Wang said China was ready to collaborate on law enforcement areas such as counter-narcotics, which has been a source of friction between the world's largest economies. Beijing's gesture comes after recent trade talks led to a suspension of drastic tariffs of up to 145% on Chinese goods. But 20% levies tied to fentanyl have remained, making products from China less competitive and contributing to a drop in exports to the US. Cracking down on precursors is one of the few obvious avenues China has that may reduce those charges.
