The White House issued a statement on Tuesday (August 6) announcing that the Chinese Communist authorities will begin to strengthen supervision of three chemicals used in the production of illegal opioid painkillers, such as Fentanyl, referring to this move as “an important step forward.”
The statement announced that the Chinese authorities have declared seven new chemicals to be added to the drug control annex of the U.S-China negotiations, including three important Fentanyl precursors: norfentanyl, 4-ap, and 1-boc-4-ap.
Sean Savett, acting spokesperson for the U.S. National Security Council, stated in the release that this is the third significant action taken by the U.S. and China since resuming bilateral drug control cooperation in November 2023. This announcement follows another major development that took place last week following the U.S.-China bilateral drug control working group meeting in Washington D.C.
The statement emphasized that President Biden and Vice President Harris have identified solving the issue of drug overdose in the U.S. and combating illegal drug trafficking as top priorities.
Fentanyl is a synthetic opioid drug that is 50 times more potent than heroin. The lethal dose for adults is approximately 2 milligrams. This dangerous illegal drug is entering the United States at an unprecedented rate.
In May of this year, DW reported on research data from the International Drug Policy Journal, stating that U.S. Customs seized over 115 million illegal Fentanyl-containing pills in 2023. This number had surged from 50,000 in 2017 to 71 million in 2022.
In 2022, Fentanyl was the culprit in 70% of drug overdose deaths in the U.S., resulting in over 200 deaths daily. Since 2018, more than 250,000 Americans have died from Fentanyl overdose.
Fentanyl overdose has become a leading cause of death among Americans aged 18 to 45 and is one of the reasons for the declining life expectancy in the United States.
As part of the efforts to thaw U.S.-China relations last year, Chinese leader Xi Jinping agreed to cooperate with Biden on drug control. Since the cooperation began, the Chinese authorities have agreed to include dozens of deadly chemicals in the drug control program.
Last Wednesday (July 31), a delegation of senior Chinese officials met with Biden administration officials to continue dialogue on strengthening control and restrictions on Fentanyl chemicals and combating China’s drug trade financing.
On Thursday (August 1), Biden signed a new National Security Memorandum directing all relevant federal departments and agencies to take further measures to prevent drugs, including Fentanyl, from entering the United States.
In April of this year, the U.S. House Committee on China issued a significant investigative report revealing that China secretly incentivized the export of Fentanyl precursors and other synthetic drugs by means such as direct subsidies and motivational measures. The report describes this as the Chinese Communist Party’s “war on drugs” targeting the United States.