Experts say the additional procedures agreed to by China may ultimately restrict the flow of the deadly drug fentanyl into the United States, but that alone will not stop the overdose problem that is killing Americans at an alarming rate.
President Joe Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping announced during a meeting in California on Wednesday that China is instructing its chemical companies to reduce shipments to Latin America and elsewhere of materials used to manufacture fentanyl, which is largely finished in Mexico and then smuggled into the United States.
China has recently begun reporting suspected human trafficking to an international database.
“It’s a step in the right direction because not doing this would be negligent,” Adam Wandt, associate professor of public policy at John Jay College of Criminal Justice, said. “If this is a diplomatic option that we did not take, every fentanyl death over the next decade would be on our heads.”
However, he and others viewed the moves as important but insufficient in tackling the overdose issue in the United States.
Wandt stated that the procedures should lower the amount of fentanyl in the United States, but when that happens would depend on how much of the drugs are already in the hands of Mexican gangs. much if fentanyl is completely eliminated, he predicts that “they will switch to another drug, which I predict will be even more lethal.”
According to Kevin Roy, chief public policy officer of Shatterproof, a national organization committed to combating the addiction and overdose problem, the initiatives proposed are critical, but they must be implemented.
“It’s only one part of a bigger picture,” he remarked.
He was particularly worried that the countries had not reached any agreements on how to deal with drug money laundering through China, a subject that Rahul Gupta, head of the Office of National Drug Control Policy, flagged as a serious issue before a congressional hearing this year.
China’s National Narcotics Control Commission issued an order Friday reminding logistics companies in the nation to prevent the transportation of narcotics and psychotropic substances overseas, citing current narcotics laws and customs procedures. The notification advised firms to be “cautious about orders from the United States and Mexico and be wary of exported items being used to manufacture drugs.”
It also warned firms about the dangers of being involved in foreign law enforcement operations.
The Biden administration said on Thursday that, as part of the agreement, trade restrictions against the Chinese Ministry of Public Security’s Institute of Forensic Science will be lifted.
According to State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller, the institute’s continuous listing is a hurdle to achieving Chinese cooperation on the matter.
“Ultimately, we decided that given the steps China was willing to take to cut down on precursor trafficking, it was an appropriate step to take,” Miller said in an interview.
In 2020, the US Commerce Department designated the institute as “complicit in human rights violations and abuses committed in China’s campaign of repression, mass arbitrary detention, forced labor, and high-technology surveillance against Uighurs, ethnic Kazakhs, and other members of Muslim minority groups.”
Fentanyl became a prevalent problem in the United States approximately a decade ago, when there were crackdowns on the dispensing of opiate medicines, which were already related to skyrocketing death rates.
It was initially delivered from China to the United States, readily disguised in envelopes and tiny shipments. Because of its strength, fentanyl is tempting to drug sellers since it is simple to send. It also does not rely on producing crops for narcotics like heroin, cocaine, or marijuana because it is created in laboratories using chemicals.
China agreed in late 2018 to restrict imports of finished fentanyl and some of its precursors in response to pressure from then-President Donald Trump. Following that, increasing production was shifted to Mexico, with raw materials still mostly originating from China.
Synthetic opioids are now the leading cause of death in the United States’ worst drug crisis in history. In 2014, approximately 50,000 deaths in the United States were attributed to various types of drug overdoses. According to a calculation by the United States, the figure had risen to more than 100,000 by the end of last year. The CDC stands for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Fentanyl or similar synthetic narcotics were implicated in more than two-thirds of the deaths—more than 200 every day.
The potent chemicals are turning up in unexpected areas of the country’s illegal substance supply. It’s in fake pills and cocaine, causing overdoses in people who have no idea they’re taking fentanyl. Some people with opioid use disorder seek it out as well. It has largely supplanted the supply of heroin in many parts of the nation.
Xi stated at a luncheon in San Francisco on Wednesday, “China sympathizes deeply with the American people, especially the young, for the sufferings that fentanyl has inflicted upon them.”
“It’s going to save lives,” Biden said of the accord, “and I appreciate President Xi’s commitment on this issue.”
Compared to earlier this year, the tone has shifted. Wang Wenbin, a spokesperson for the Chinese Foreign Ministry, criticized the US in April for blaming China for the precursors, saying they’re “ordinary chemicals sold through normal trade.” And, over the summer, China blasted the US for imposing sanctions on Chinese anti-drug efforts rather than praising them.
One of the most important aspects of China’s latest revelation is that it is sharing intelligence on drug trafficking. For the first time in three years, it has resumed sending information to the International Narcotics Control Board and agreed to organize a counternarcotics working group with the United States.
“As we all know all too well, the supply piece is only one part of the puzzle, and we’re not going to solve the fentanyl overdose problem solely by reducing supply,” said Regina LaBelle, who directs the Addiction and Public Policy Initiative at Georgetown University’s O’Neill Institute and served as acting director of President Biden’s Office of National Drug Control Policy.
She stated that while China and the United States are dealing with fentanyl, it is an issue that requires assistance from other nations as well. Xi met with Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador on Thursday, and Biden was due to meet with him on Friday.
The growth in fentanyl use in the United States has heightened attempts to mitigate the risk. Naloxone, a medication that may be used to reverse an overdose, is now more commonly available, including without a prescription. A rising number of locations are introducing drug test kits so that users may determine if their medicines include fentanyl. Harm reduction groups also preach that people who take drugs should start with a small amount to screen for side effects and should not use them alone.
“We’re making investments in the United States in addressing prevention, treatment, recovery, and harm reduction,” she added. “All of those things have to continue to be ramped up.”
