During an interview with the BBC released on Friday, Secretary of State Antony Blinken stated that “We’ve seen a real change in terms of cooperation from China in trying to deal with” fentanyl and China is “taking it seriously.”
Blinken said, “[T]he way it’s made is, with chemicals, ingredients, the precursors that get synthesized into this opioid. And those chemicals are often manufactured in China, for totally appropriate and legal purposes, but then they get diverted to criminal organizations that turn them into fentanyl and send them into the United States. We’ve seen a real change in terms of cooperation from China in trying to deal with that. But, in my conversations today, we focused on how to carry that forward to have a real impact, to make sure we have results, certain steps that we’re looking to China to take to demonstrate that.”
He also stated that China is “taking it seriously. But there’s a difference, as we would say, between inputs and impacts. And to get the impact, which is really slowing, if not ending the flow of these chemicals toward the United States, there are really three things that would be important, I think, that can make progress, change behavior: One is law enforcement actions, particularly prosecutions of people who are engaged in sending the chemicals or the equipment to these criminal enterprises that make fentanyl. Second would be to make sure that the chemicals that the U.N. agency that’s responsible for this said should be regulated, listed, scheduled…that China move forward and actually do that, list these chemicals so that they’re controlled. And the third thing would be to really focus on the financial networks and any connections between Chinese individuals and Chinese enterprises and the financial networks, particularly these cartels, some of which are using cryptocurrency to get around controls. I think if we see action in those areas, that’s going to produce effective results in slowing the flow of chemicals.”
Blinken’s comments follow a report by the Select Committee on the CCP that found that the CCP “Directly subsidizes the manufacturing and export of illicit fentanyl materials and other synthetic narcotics through tax rebates. …Gave monetary grants and awards to companies openly trafficking illicit fentanyl materials and other synthetic narcotics. … Holds ownership interest in several PRC companies tied to drug trafficking. … Censors content about domestic drug sales, but leaves export-focused narcotics content untouched” among other things.
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