US sanctions on Chinese entities accused in fentanyl trafficking ‘unreasonable’

Washington on Tuesday announced sanctions against several entities and individuals based in China, Mexico

Beijing warns sanctions could create ‘obstacles’ for further cooperation with Washington

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Fentanyl has been a primary driver in what the US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention has called an “opioid overdose epidemic”. Photo: Reuters

Published: 8:15pm, 31 May 2023

The latest round of US sanctions against Chinese entities for their alleged roles in fentanyl trafficking were “unreasonable”, China’s foreign ministry said on Wednesday, warning that such actions could create “obstacles” for further cooperation with Washington to tackle the crisis.

On Tuesday, the US Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control announced new sanctions against seven entities and six individuals based in China, as well as one entity and three people in Mexico.

They were accused of manufacturing and selling equipment such as pill press machines and die moulds used to produce counterfeit pharmaceutical tablets laced with fentanyl for shipment to the US, the department said.

The latest move followed similar sanctions introduced in April against two Chinese companies and four nationals for allegedly supplying precursor chemicals used for fentanyl production to drug cartels based in Mexico.

“These are common commodities, which are not controlled both at home or abroad,” foreign ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning said on Wednesday. “[T]he importer is responsible for preventing related equipment from flowing into drug production channels.

“If someone commits a crime with a knife, it is very clear whether the person who wields the knife or the manufacturer of the knife should be sanctioned and punished,” she added.

Fentanyl has been a primary driver in what the US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has called an “opioid overdose epidemic”. The drug is responsible for tens of thousands of deaths each year – with the numbers continuing to rise.