US-China relations: Beijing warns companies against selling equipment, precursors for fentanyl

Beijing has made a concession to Washington on the fentanyl issue, warning Chinese companies against selling equipment and precursor chemicals that could be used to produce the opioid overseas.

Washington meanwhile lifted Xinjiang-related sanctions on a lab affiliated with the Chinese police, saying the move was key to stopping the trafficking of precursor chemicals.

03:12

Xi Jinping, Joe Biden hold talks on sidelines of Apec summit to ease strained US-China ties

In a notice released on Friday, China’s Office of the National Narcotics Control Commission urged businesses and individuals to prevent the production and trafficking of narcotics, psychotropic substances and precursor chemicals.

It said they should also guard against the risk of “long-arm jurisdiction” and “entrapment” by foreign law enforcement agencies due to the sale of unregulated chemicals and related equipment.

The narcotics control agency said companies and individuals involved in the production, import and export of controlled substances in the US should exercise caution when receiving orders from countries such as the United States and Mexico. It said they should be vigilant about the risk of the exports being used for illicit drug manufacturing.

An attached list sets out 51 types of precursor chemicals controlled in the US.

The notice said those involved in businesses such as the production and export of tablet press machines should handle orders from the US and Mexico with care to prevent them from flowing into illegal channels and to prevent the risk of “entrapment” or sanctions.

Businesses and individuals were also urged to improve their legal awareness, with “special attention” to be paid to the laws and regulations of the importing nation, “especially high-risk countries like the US and Mexico”.

Xi and Biden clear ‘low bar for success’ but bigger hurdles loom

Sarah Beran, the US National Security Council’s senior director for China and Taiwan affairs, told reporters on Thursday that Xi had agreed to restart bilateral cooperation on counter-narcotics – with a focus on reducing the flow of precursor chemicals – during the summit with Biden.

“Additionally, and for longer term coordination, the leaders agreed to establish a working group through which our law enforcement officials can expand counter-narcotics cooperation,” Beran said.

Also on Thursday, US State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said Washington had removed the Chinese Ministry of Public Security’s Institute of Forensic Science from its sanctions list – it had been on the list for alleged human rights violations in Xinjiang.

Miller said this was an “appropriate step” to take to stop the trafficking of precursor chemicals.

“It became clear to us in conversations with [China] … that the continued listing of the IFS on the Commerce Entity List was a barrier to achieving cooperation on stopping the trafficking of precursor chemicals,” Miller said.

“It was a top priority for the secretary and for the president to stop the trafficking of precursor chemicals out of China that can be used to produce fentanyl that comes into the United States.”

02:23

US charges Chinese manufacturers for alleged fentanyl ingredient trafficking in landmark case

Washington has accused China of supplying an illicit flow of precursor chemicals that are used to make fentanyl, which has fuelled a health crisis in the US and a sharp increase in overdose deaths.

China listed all forms of fentanyl as controlled drugs in 2019, but according to the US Department of Justice, the Chinese chemical industry has continued to produce precursor chemicals that are shipped to drug cartels in the US and Mexico for illicit production of fentanyl which is smuggled across the country.

Last month, the United States imposed sanctions on 28 people and entities involved in the international proliferation of illicit drugs, including a large China-based network.

China has denied involvement in the shipping of precursor chemicals used by drug cartels. In July, the Chinese embassy in Mexico rejected US officials’ claims that precursor chemicals for fentanyl came from China.

Chinese foreign ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning in April said the fentanyl problem was “completely made in the US”.