Officials in China say say new regulations will go into effect September 1st that tighten controls on the so-called "precursor" chemicals used to make street fentanyl. The powerful opioid is killing tens of thousands of people in the U.S.
every year. According to experts, chemical plants in China have emerged as major suppliers for Mexican drug cartels and other criminal gangs producing synthetic drugs, including fentanyl and methamphetamines. The Biden administration described China's new rules - increasing government oversight on seven chemicals, including three compounds used to make illicit fentanyl - as a "valuable step forward " in the fight to curb U.
S. overdose deaths. "We're going to look for further progress on counter-narcotics and the flow of illicit synthetic drugs into the United States," said White House National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan on Thursday, during a press conference in Beijing.
In a statement earlier this month , the White House described China's latest regulations as part of a trend toward improved cooperation on narcotics that began last November when President Joe Biden met with Chinese President Xi Jinping. "This marks the third significant [regulatory] action by the PRC since President Biden met with President Xi and resumed bilateral counter-narcotics cooperation," said National Security Council spokesman Sean Savett. Before the resumption of counter-narcotics talks in 2023, China suspended all drug-related cooperation with the U.
S. becaus.