BEIJING (dpa-AFX) - China has announced scheduling controls on three essential precursor chemicals used to manufacture illicit fentanyl, thereby subjecting them to additional regulation and control.
This marks the third significant scheduling action by China since President Joe Biden met with his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping and resumed bilateral counternarcotics cooperation in November last year.
Last week, senior U.S., Chinese officials met in Washington as part of the U.S.-China Counternarcotics Working Group to discuss key initiatives, including ways to increase law enforcement cooperation, disrupt the illicit financing of transnational criminal organizations, and accelerate the scheduling of precursor chemicals.
In a statement, NSC Spokesperson Sean Savett described Beijing's announcement of Fentanyl scheduling actions as 'a valuable step forward'.
Synthetic opioids remain the source of the deadliest U.S. drug epidemic. Drug overdose deaths have increased significantly since 2012 when Chinese agents began supplying synthetic opioids to meet the U.S. demand for it.
Although China placed the entire class of fentanyl-type drugs and two key fentanyl precursors under a controlled regulatory regime in May 2019, it remains the main source of U.S. fentanyl.
Fentanyl scheduling and China's adoption of stricter mail monitoring has created some deterrence effects. Instead of finished fentanyl being shipped directly to the United States, most smuggling now takes place via Mexico. Mexican criminal groups source fentanyl precursors from China, and then traffic finished fentanyl to the United States.
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