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U.S. and China to Address Fentanyl Supply in Beijing Talks

The talks are part of the U.S.-PRC Counternarcotics Working Group's efforts to coordinate responses to the evolving drug trade.

FILE – A bag of 4-fluoro isobutyryl fentanyl which was seized in a drug raid is displayed at the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Special Testing and Research Laboratory in Sterling, Va., on Aug. 9, 2016. China on Friday, July 7, 2023, insisted it is up to the U.S. to “create necessary conditions” for anti-drugs cooperation, following complaints from Washington that Beijing has ignored its calls for a crackdown on precursor chemicals for the highly addictive painkiller fentanyl. (AP Photo/Cliff Owen, File)
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Beijing stopped cooperating with the US over the opioid crisis after the then House Speaker Nancy Pelosi visited Taiwan in 2022. Photo: Taiwan Presidential Palace/dpa
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Overview

  • U.S. and Chinese officials are set to hold talks on addressing the supply of fentanyl and its precursor chemicals in Beijing.
  • The U.S.-PRC Counternarcotics Working Group sessions follow a commitment for the two countries to work together on the issue following a November meeting between U.S. President Joe Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping.
  • China has already taken some action against Chinese suppliers of synthetic drugs and chemical precursors, including shutting down some companies and blocking international payment accounts.
  • The working group will allow the United States and China to continue to coordinate as the drug trade evolves.
  • According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, there are more than 100,000 drug overdose deaths in the United States each year, and about 70% of those are linked to illegally made fentanyl and other synthetic opioids.