Congressional advisers find fentanyl fight hampered by limited Chinese cooperation

A report from congressional advisers found that the fight to stem fentanyl trafficking has been hampered by limited cooperation from China.

The report from the U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission released Tuesday said that cooperation from China “remains limited on the ground” despite efforts from U.S. law enforcement to cooperate with China.

There have been improvements when it comes to conducting high-level meetings, establishing working groups and sharing information with China that has led to the dismantling of “a few illicit fentanyl networks,” according to the report.

However, the Chinese government has “cooperated less with U.S. authorities on criminal and money laundering investigations, conducting joint operations, and U.S. requests for inspections and law enforcement assistance,” the report found.

The report further said that Chinese authorities delay requests for access to potential sites of illegal drug production, allowing illegal operations to clean up the site.

China began cracking down on fentanyl in 2019 when it began controlling all fentanyl and ramped up investigations of known manufacturing sites.

Nevertheless, China remains the “primary country of origin” for illicit fentanyl trafficked into the United States, the report found.

The report notes that Chinese traffickers are using “various strategies to circumvent new regulations,” such as focusing on manufacturing precursors, relocating manufacturing to India and using marketing schemes to avoid detection.

The Drug Enforcement Administration has said traffickers have primarily exported precursors to Mexican cartels, which then uses those products to make illicit fentanyl.

The Commission’s report was first reported by Reuters on Tuesday. Asked about the report, the Chinese Foreign Ministry told the news outlet that accusations are were unacceptable.

“The U.S. cannot harm China’s interests while expecting China to cooperate unconditionally,” the ministry said.