After years of American pressure, China is restricting the use of fentanyl

After years of pressure, China announced new restrictions on chemicals used in the production of fentanyl, a powerful synthetic opioid, considered “the deadliest threat the United States has ever faced.” ever,” as US Attorney General Merrick Garland said.

China is one of the largest sources of chemicals used to produce fentanyl that is sold to cartels in Mexico, who manufacture the extremely powerful drug and transport it to the United States.

The fentanyl issue has been a source of diplomatic contention over the past two and a half years, and China’s decision represents a small step forward in the Biden administration’s strategy of seeking cooperation. with China on the fight against drugs even as the relationship of the two countries. increasingly defined by competition.

In March 2022, the United Nations Commission on Narcotic Drugs blacklisted the chemicals – known as “4-AP”, “1-BOC-4-AP” and “norfentanil”. . Do so, accordinglyWall Street Journal“.

Many anti-narcotics experts have criticized Beijing’s reluctance to do so in the context of the Chinese government using leverage over the United States as bilateral relations sour.

The situation did not begin to improve after a summit in California last November, when President Biden and Chinese leader Xi Jinping agreed to a joint anti-drug task force. launched.

Starting September 1, Chinese authorities will impose stricter controls on the production and sale of the three chemicals, including requiring exporters to obtain a permit, according to a government notice published online Monday, according to the Wall Street Journal.

The Biden administration said Tuesday that China will impose regulations and controls on three key chemicals used in fentanyl starting in September, the newspaper reported.Financial Times“.

The White House hailed China’s decision as a “valuable step forward” after a meeting between senior American and Chinese officials in Washington last week.

The Wall Street Journal considered this step, which the United States had long sought, reflecting Beijing’s desire to keep an important diplomatic channel open with Washington before the presidential elections in November.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the United States recorded more than 107,000 overdose deaths in 2023. Fentanyl was the cause of about 70 percent of them.

According to the newspaper “The New York Times“Every year, more than 80,000 Americans die from fentanyl.

“What started as a crisis fueled by reckless prescriptions for painkillers has now become a deadly illegal trade in fake OxyContin or Vicodin pills containing fentanyl in wildly inconsistent doses, ” the newspaper says, noting that depending on the amount of fentanyl used, one pill can be fatal.”

In 2019, China took steps to stop the export of fentanyl to the United States, prompting Chinese organizations to shift their focus to manufacturing the chemicals needed to produce the drug.

According to the Financial Times, Chinese groups are sending chemicals to cartels in Mexico that produce fentanyl for distribution in the American market.

Last month, the US Department of Justice announced that two leaders of Mexico’s powerful Sinaloa Cartel were arrested in Texas, in the southern part of the United States, in a major blow to “one of the gangs the most violent and powerful drug trade in the world.”

Insight Crime reports that the Sinaloa Cartel “established relationships at the highest level within the Federal Police and the Mexican Army, and bribed members of both institutions to outperform rival gangs.”

The name of the Sinaloa Cartel appears in the long list of disputes between Washington and Beijing. In June, the US Department of Justice accused “Chinese shadow bankers” of helping the criminal network launder more than $50 million in drug money.