China said it will begin increasing controls and regulations on the production of three chemicals used to make illicit fentanyl, the White House said Tuesday, calling the move a “valuable step forward.”
U.S. National Security Council spokesman Sean Savett said in a statement that the decision was the third significant action since the United States and China resumed bilateral counter-narcotics cooperation in November 2023.
The illegal distribution of fentanyl remains a serious problem for US President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris, who have won the Democratic Party nomination to run in the US presidential election on November 5.
Fentanyl overdoses have soared to become the leading cause of death for Americans between the ages of 18 and 45, and more than 107,000 Americans will die from drug overdoses in 2023.
As part of an effort last year to thaw relations with Chinese President Xi Jinping, Biden agreed to work with Beijing on the war on drugs.
A delegation of senior Chinese officials met with Biden administration officials on Wednesday (7/31) to continue talks on increasing controls on the chemical fentanyl and curbing China's drug trafficking financing.
A US congressional committee said in April that China directly subsidized the production of illicit fentanyl precursors for sale abroad and fueled the opioid crisis in the United States, while releasing investigative findings that outlined Beijing's incentives for the dangerous chemical. (th/ab)
