China to beef up regulations on fentanyl chemicals, White House says

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - China said it would begin adding controls and regulation to the production of three chemicals used to make illicit fentanyl, the White House said on Tuesday, calling the move "a valuable step forward".

It is the third significant such action since the United States and China resumed bilateral counter-narcotics cooperation in November 2023, acting National Security Council spokesperson Sean Savett said in a statement.

Illicit fentanyl remains a potent issue for U.S. President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris, who has clinched the Democratic nomination for the Nov. 5 U.S. presidential election. Fentanyl overdoses have surged to become the leading cause of death for Americans between the ages of 18 and 45 and over 107,000 Americans died from drug overdoses in 2023.

As part of an effort launched last year to thaw icy relations with Chinese President Xi Jinping, Biden agreed to cooperate with Beijing on counter-narcotics.

A delegation of senior Chinese officials met Biden administration officials last Wednesday to continue conversations on increasing controls on fentanyl chemicals and restricting financing for the drug trade in China.

A U.S. congressional committee said in April that China was directly subsidizing production of illicit fentanyl precursors for sale abroad and fueling the U.S. opioid crisis, releasing findings from an investigation it said unveiled Beijing's incentives for the deadly chemicals.

(Reporting by Doina Chiacu; Editing by Andrew Heavens and Sharon Singleton)