Drug-fighting talks with US resume gradually

Counternarcotics authorities in China and the United States are gradually resuming regular communications, Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin said on Friday, urging the US to show good faith in cooperation on such matters.

Narcotics control was one of the important common understandings the two countries reached as their heads of state met in San Francisco in November.

During the meeting, their two presidents agreed on promoting cooperation in a number of fields, including counternarcotics coordination.

To deliver on the agreement, the US lifted its sanctions on the Ministry of Public Security's Institute of Forensic Science of China in November, following the meeting.

China, for its part, has responded to the US request to verify clues in certain cases and has taken actions accordingly, while also notifying the US about the progress of its relevant law enforcement operations, Wang said.

Both sides are also maintaining close communications over the establishment of a working group on counternarcotics cooperation, which the two heads of state agreed to in San Francisco, Wang said.

China has continued to press ahead with a special campaign to crack down on smuggling, illicit manufacturing, trafficking and fentanyl abuse and its precursor chemicals, he said.

The country has started a sweeping investigation into key companies, individuals and equipment, and is continuing efforts to remove information about online sales of fentanyl to prevent smuggling such substances overseas, Wang said.

The US, which faces a serious issue of drug abuse and addiction, has been seeking to enhance cooperation with China to tackle the abuse of fentanyl.

But the cooperation was hindered over the years, as the US included the Ministry of Public Security's institute on its sanctions list in 2020, and China suspended bilateral counternarcotics cooperation as a response to then-US House speaker Nancy Pelosi's visit to China's Taiwan region in August last year.

"The resumption of China-US counternarcotics cooperation is hard-won progress that should be cherished by both sides," Wang emphasized.

"We hope the US will show good faith and work with China to continue the pragmatic cooperation to tackle narcotics based on mutual respect, equality and mutual benefit," he said.