US seeks to heap pressure on China through global coalition tackling fentanyl and other opioids

Citing meagre bilateral engagement, senior State Department official says ‘having other countries engage with the PRC will eventually bear fruit’
Remarks precede planned launch of Washington-led, ministerial-level coalition to address synthetic drug threats

US-China relations

Khushboo Razdanin New York

Published: 6:15am, 7 Jul 2023

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Amid meagre engagement with China in tackling the criminal diversion of fentanyl and other synthetic opioids, the US seeks to involve other countries in its efforts and indirectly spur the Asian giant to act, a senior US official said on Thursday.

Beijing in “recent months” has not cooperated with Washington to address threats arising from illicit drugs, according to Todd Robinson, an assistant secretary for the US State Department’s Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs.

“Part of the reason we’re trying to bring this coalition together is to engage other countries in their efforts against these supply chains and part of their responsibility is going to be engaging with the PRC,” said Robinson.

“We think having other countries engage with the PRC will eventually bear fruit,” he added, describing illicit drugs as a global problem requiring a global response.

Robinson said that although China was “not talking” to the US at the moment, it was in dialogue with other countries.

His remarks came ahead of a planned launch on Friday of a US-led global coalition to address synthetic drug threats. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken is slated to host the virtual ministerial-level event.

The initiative aims to “unite countries worldwide in a concerted effort to prevent the illicit manufacture and trafficking of synthetic drugs, identify emerging drug trends, and respond effectively to their public health impacts”, according to a State Department statement.

To date, “a number of international organisations” and 84 countries have committed to take part, said Robinson, who noted that while China had been invited, there was no “indication at the moment that they’re going to participate”.

“This is the beginning of the process,” he added. “Our hope is that all responsible countries will eventually participate between now and over the next year.”

Fentanyl is the leading cause of death for Americans aged 18 to 49, according to the US government. Overdoses cause tens of thousands of deaths each year in the US, with deaths related to the drug ballooning from 5.7 per 100,000 people in 2016 to 21.6 in 2021.

China had been considered the main source of fentanyl entering the US until 2019, when Beijing imposed stricter export controls at Washington’s request.

Yet China remains the main source for key ingredients, according to US officials, with end-stage production capacity having largely moved to countries like Mexico, from where the finished product can be smuggled into the US.

Blinken last week said the US and China were moving towards “more practical cooperation” in tackling the stateside fentanyl crisis. His remarks followed his meetings in Beijing last month with Chinese officials and Chinese President Xi Jinping.

Just days after Blinken’s visit to bolster communication with Beijing amid languishing bilateral ties, the US Justice Department filed criminal charges in New York against eight Chinese nationals and, for the first time, four Chinese chemical companies accused of illegally trafficking ingredients used to make fentanyl.

Earlier that month, while responding to a question about US accusations that China was failing to stop fentanyl production, Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin warned that sanctioning Chinese companies and individuals was “seriously damaging to the foundation” of Sino-American cooperation against narcotics.

In May, the US Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control sanctioned seven entities and six individuals based in China. That followed similar sanctions imposed in April against two Chinese companies and four nationals for allegedly supplying precursor chemicals used for fentanyl production to drug cartels in Mexico.

Robinson on Thursday said Washington in the past had successfully collaborated with Beijing to fight narcotics, but “we assess that the PRC needs to do more as a global partner to disrupt illicit synthetic drug supply chains”.