A year later, a bipartisan team of U.S. lawmakers led by Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer emphasized the need to resume talks during a visit to Beijing a year later. As a result, US President Joe Biden and President Xi Jinping announce an agreement I met him in San Francisco in November.
Such skepticism is only partially applicable. Political relations between the two countries are always fraught with conflicts from which neither side can retreat from their respective positions. Still, counternarcotics has been an area of cooperation between the United States and China since the 1980s, and there have been success stories, such as stemming the flow of illegal opium and heroin from the United States. golden triangle such as Southeast Asia and Afghanistan.
In recent years, the geography of global illicit drug flows has changed, with China itself becoming a drug supplier. Central to the change is the Fentanyl and chemical precursors It can be converted into a final product that is far more lethal than heroin.
Powerful narcotic painkillers such as fentanyl differ from repurposed drug plant products in that they are fully synthetic drugs manufactured in clandestine laboratories.The first reports of fentanyl have come out. in california It was founded in 1979 under the name “China White”. Then, in the mid-2010s, he became one of the most notorious illegal drugs in the United States.
Following former President Donald Trump Problem presentation During a visit to Beijing in November 2017, China placed all variants of fentanyl in the controlled substance category. This results in unregulated production and use, including export, and was made illegal In 2019.
Later that year, based on information presented by U.S. authorities, a Chinese court jailed nine people for smuggling fentanyl into the United States, one of whom received a suspended death sentence. In other words, Beijing did not use its anger over Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan to stop individual cooperation with the United States.
01:44
US and China work together to combat global fentanyl trade
US and China work together to combat global fentanyl trade
In the domestic context, the United States strengthened control of fentanyl-related substances through legislation in 2020, which was subsequently extended until the end of 2024. Currently, both governments have similar regulatory policies regarding fentanyl as a substance.
This is where the rationale for depoliticization comes from. Fentanyl as a substance has legitimate medical uses for pain control. Addressing the resilience of illicit drug markets around the world is a never-ending challenge for governments everywhere.
The illegal supply of hazardous substances, including fentanyl, is also a problem within China. Chinese law enforcement Public health agencies need to do the same. A review of Chinese court records points to hundreds of cases involving the illegal manufacture, trafficking and abuse of drugs such as fentanyl, ketamine and synthetic cathinones.
simple logic Collaboration based on science and disciplines The agreement with the US means China can benefit from US expertise in tracing the origins of illegal drugs to their molecules, including compounds produced in foreign facilities.
Chinese suppliers fueling America’s fentanyl epidemic
Nuclear magnetic resonance spectrometers can be used to analyze the chemical structure of illegal drugs. In 2018, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Geng Shuang said, “Since these devices are mainly produced by American manufacturers, the relevant U.S. authorities must actively cooperate with the Chinese side and provide relevant information regularly. I hope that it will.”
Considering the future of cooperation, there is a clear need for bilateral meetings that go beyond repeating deliverables, such as demonstrating political goodwill. This mission is not a trade-off between favors and sanctions. Rather, both China and the United States face the complexities of stubborn societies that their governments have proven to be complex. Anti-narcotics treatment As part of addressing their respective domestic issues.
The current focus of bilateral discussions is on encouraging policies that require exporters of fentanyl precursors to adopt a “know your customer” approach. banking industry. Although such an approach is accepted as best practice in drug control, it is not enough to simply shift the blame onto exporters, given the unknown origins of their customer base.
08:14
Hooked on Heroin: Fighting Human Trafficking and Addiction in a Chinese Town
Hooked on Heroin: Fighting Human Trafficking and Addiction in a Chinese Town
Against the larger background of biotechnology, Area of strategic competition Between the United States and China, a more prudent approach would be to position the protection of public health in both countries as a universal common good. One way he does this is by revisiting restrictive policies regarding access to data and basic research in the chemical sciences.
Additionally, information sharing with international drug enforcement agencies needs to be improved. If the focus remains on substances already known to cause harm, authorities will be left behind.
Given that counternarcotics is a long-standing challenge for the United States, China, and other countries, the need for scientific and professional cooperation between the two countries will become increasingly important. The protection of public health is a critical area of bilateral relations and cannot be treated on an ad hoc basis.
Zha Daojiong is Professor of International Political Economy at the School of International Relations, Institute for South-South Cooperation and Development, Peking University.
