As the White House advocates for increased collaboration with China on counternarcotics, Chinese drug trafficking networks are expanding. President Joe Biden marked Overdose Awareness Week in August, acknowledging the nation’s devastating toll of over half a million drug overdose deaths in the past decade.
The president praised his administration’s renewed efforts to cooperate with communist China in countering the influx of fentanyl and other synthetic opioids into the United States. White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan traveled to China to support this joint counternarcotics cooperation.
However, while Sullivan was in Beijing, another senior Biden administration official, Deputy Secretary of State Kurt Campbell, was in Vanuatu addressing the growing threat posed by Chinese drug traffickers. Campbell warned that these networks were expanding their operations, potentially increasing the flow of fentanyl into the United States and other regions through new shipping routes in the Indo-Pacific.
Despite promises to crack down on these networks, Campbell’s remarks raise doubts about the effectiveness of the Biden administration’s counternarcotics efforts with China. The U.S. government is now navigating the delicate balance between engaging with China’s authoritarian regime and combating the opioid crisis at home.
While the administration has made progress in diplomatic efforts with China, including scheduling controlled substances and disrupting the flow of synthetic drugs, it remains uncertain whether these actions will reduce the influx of Chinese drugs into the U.S. The State Department acknowledges that China-based companies continue to be the primary source of precursor chemicals for illicit fentanyl production.
Concerns have been raised by security experts that China’s actions may be merely symbolic, with little tangible impact on enforcing drug trafficking laws. Some analysts suggest that China’s efforts are mere PR gestures to divert attention from its complicity in the global drug trade.
The staggering toll of synthetic opioid overdoses in the U.S., with over 75,000 deaths reported last year, underscores the urgent need for effective measures to combat the flow of illicit drugs. The challenge lies in balancing diplomatic relations with China while addressing the grave consequences of the opioid crisis at home. According to a press release by the National Institute on Drug Abuse, law enforcement confiscated over 115 million fentanyl pills in 2023, which is more than 10 times the amount seized in 2021 and nearly 400 times the amount seized in 2018. The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) seized 4,600 pounds of fentanyl powder and 34.5 million fentanyl pills in 2024 alone. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) seized over 27,000 pounds of fentanyl. U.S. Customs and Border Protection Commissioner Troy Miller stated that pure fentanyl from China was a significant threat from 2014-2018, but the drug’s flow shifted to smuggling through Mexican cartels using Chinese precursor chemicals after China scheduled fentanyl as a class of drugs in 2019. Recent charges against Chinese nationals importing fentanyl precursors and money laundering activities linked to Chinese traffickers suggest ongoing involvement in the drug trade. Border Patrol agents apprehended more Chinese nationals attempting to enter the U.S. illegally in fiscal year 2023, raising concerns about cooperation with China in combating fentanyl trafficking. Congressional Republicans have criticized the Biden administration’s approach to counternarcotics cooperation with China, citing concerns about concessions to the Chinese government and lack of tangible results in reducing fentanyl shipments. The House Select Committee on Strategic Competition with the CCP has similarly raised doubts about the effectiveness of the administration’s efforts and highlighted China’s role in subsidizing the export of fentanyl and fentanyl precursors. The committee recommended strict trade and customs enforcement measures to address the flow of narcotics from China. Democratic lawmakers have not publicly criticized the administration’s counternarcotics strategy with China, and their response on the effectiveness of the Counternarcotics Working Group remains unclear. Lisa McClain, a Republican from Michigan who chairs the House Subcommittee on Health Care and Financial Services, connected the opioid crisis to other policies of the Biden administration and expressed to The Epoch Times that the crisis would likely persist until the ongoing border situation was resolved.
“Lives are in danger, and we must take action to lessen the ongoing damage and suffering caused by this deadly substance to American families,” McClain emphasized.
Representative Alex Mooney, a Republican from West Virginia, a state that consistently ranks highest in the nation for lethal overdoses per capita, pointed to China’s communist regime as a major contributor to the crisis.
“West Virginia has been severely affected by the drug epidemic, and much of the poison on our streets can be directly linked back to Mexican drug cartels using fentanyl materials from China,” Mooney informed The Epoch Times.
Mooney suggested that Congress should approve legislation to withhold U.S. taxpayer-funded aid from countries like Mexico and China until they can demonstrate effective collaboration with the United States to reduce the production and trafficking of fentanyl. He stated that if this cooperation did not occur, these countries should not receive American assistance.
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