Passing the buck on fentanyl aimed at leverage: China Daily editorial

Washington is passing the buck for its domestic drug woes to China and creating a new issue in Sino-US relations that it can manipulate to put pressure on Beijing by charging four China-based companies and eight Chinese nationals for allegedly supplying chemicals required for the production of fentanyl in the United States.

The announcement by the US Justice Department on Friday came just four days after US Secretary of State Antony Blinken spoke positively about his first trip to China and the talks he had with his Chinese hosts, saying the exchanges would help the two sides defuse risks in bilateral ties, avoid miscalculation and prompt the two sides to handle their relations responsibly. How to properly handle the so-called fentanyl issue was high on Blinken's agenda for the visit.

He will have known that China is the first country in the world to regulate the entire class of fentanyl substances, and that it has played an important role in preventing the illegal manufacture, trafficking and abuse of the drug. In December 2018, China and the US agreed to take positive actions to strengthen cooperation in law enforcement and drug control, including the control of fentanyl-like substances. And on May 1, 2019, China added fentanyl-related substances to the Supplementary List of Controlled Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances with Non-medical Use.

That provides a strong legal basis for cracking down on and punishing crimes related to fentanyl in the country. China has also made unprecedented efforts and taken extraordinary measures to control the fentanyl problem, and ensured all relevant measures come into effect. China's strong efforts and positive results in managing the fentanyl issue have been recognized by the international community.

That the US accuses China of being the main source of fentanyl-like substances in the US politicizes the facts. The US ignores the actions of US enterprises and individuals.

The drug crisis in the US is fundamentally the result of economic interests, lobbying groups, and social and cultural factors in the country. On the one hand, the federal and state governments have failed to effectively regulate drugs and deter drug abuse, resulting in more and more teenagers becoming the victims. On the other hand, large pharmaceutical companies in the US have invested a lot of money to fund experts and associations to sell the theory that "opioids are harmless", thereby contributing to the drug problem.

Undoubtedly, the root cause of the drug issue in the US lies within itself. But rather than getting to grips with the problem, the US is attempting to use drug control as a means to pressure and coerce China.