After years of US pressure, China agrees to restrict fentanyl chemicals

China is set to impose stricter regulations on producing the chemicals that make up fentanyl, according to the White House , which called the move a “valuable step forward.” For years, the U.S. government has put pressure on Beijing to counter the fentanyl crisis.

The drug chemicals are produced in China, then sold to Mexican cartels where they’re manufactured into fentanyl and then smuggled by cartels into the United States.

Tens of thousands of people in America die from fentanyl overdoses each year. In 2023, nearly 75,000 died of fentanyl, according to estimates by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Illicit fentanyl is also the leading cause of death for people ages 18 to 45 in America.

China announced that starting Sept. 1, it will begin requiring exporters of three precursor fentanyl chemicals to obtain a license, according to The Wall Street Journal .

Over the years, the Biden administration has fought for China to arrest drug producers. However, China countered that the chemical producers were not breaking Chinese law. The precursor fentanyl drugs were not restricted in China.

In November 2023, President Joe Biden met with China’s President Xi Jinping in San Francisco to discuss bilateral counternarcotics cooperation. The National Security Council said China’s announcement “marks the third significant scheduling action by the PRC” since that time.

China’s decision comes three months before November’s presidential election, and experts said it's a sign that China wants to cooperate in diplomatic relations with the U.S.

Last week, the Biden administration urged Congress to pass legislation aimed at combating illicit fentanyl and holding drug traffickers accountable.

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