US says other countries should ask China to curb synthetic drugs

(Patria) - The US wants other countries to ask China to work on limiting the flow of synthetic drugs, the top State Department narcotics official said, as Washington complains about a lack of cooperation from Beijing in fighting the illegal trade of dangerous substances.

On the eve of a US-led conference, Assistant Secretary of State for International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs Todd Robinson said China must do more to disrupt supply chains of illicit synthetic drugs, but it is still unclear whether China will join the meeting, Reuters reported.

"We have invited China. At this point, we have no indication that they will participate," Robinson said, adding that although Beijing has "not engaged" with US officials on the issue in recent months, Washington is still actively seeking help.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken will host the first virtual meeting of at least 84 countries on Friday to establish a "global coalition" to combat synthetic drugs, part of the Biden administration's policy to curb the highly addictive painkiller fentanyl that has fueled the opioid crisis.

"This is not about blame, nor about pressure," Robinson said.

"Part of the reason we are trying to bring this coalition together is to engage other countries in their efforts against the supply chain, and part of their responsibility will be to engage with the PRC (People's Republic of China)," he said.

China is a major producer of chemicals needed to create fentanyl, which is often smuggled across the US-Mexico border.

Beijing has said Washington should stop using the fentanyl crisis as an excuse to impose sanctions on Chinese companies, and Chinese state media have repeatedly said that drug addiction and demand are domestic US problems.

Nearly 80,000 Americans died from opioid overdoses in 2022, according to the Centers for Disease Control.

The US Department of Justice in June filed criminal charges against four Chinese chemical manufacturing companies and eight individuals on allegations of illegally trading chemicals used to produce fentanyl.