China says US domestic opioid market is the crux of the crisis

BEIJING (Reuters) – China's drug control agency said Monday that the United States should do more to reduce the demand for opioids against the use of synthetic fentanyl, but they promised to To intensify their cooperation after the Chinese production of this substance fueling the American opioid crisis.

US President Donald Trump said in November during a state visit to Beijing that China and the United States would do more to prevent what he calls a "stream of fentanyl" made in China "to enter the United States.

A one-year congressional survey on the use of fentanyl in the United States concluded that the substance could easily be purchased online from Chinese "labs" and sent to the United States due to deficiencies in the surveillance of the American postal service.

"China's drug control agencies, now and in the years to come, will put more emphasis on drug control cooperation between China and the United States," Liu said. Yuejin, vice president of the National Narcotics Commission of China.

"But I believe that to solve this problem, it is essential that the United States strives to reduce and compress the demand and the opioid consumer markets," he said.

Although China accepts that some new psychoactive substances, including fentanyl, manufactured in China are sold in the United States, the substances are not yet easily used and sold in China, he added.

Asked whether current tensions in bilateral relations would influence joint efforts between China and the United States, Liu said political factors would not affect China's determination to fight manufacturing and manufacturing. drug traffic.

According to US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, opioids were responsible for more than 33,000 US deaths in 2015. Fentanyl is 50 times more potent than heroin and 100 times more potent than morphine.

Beijing has taken action to crack down on the production and export of synthetic drugs and has placed fentanyl and 22 other related compounds on its list of controlled substances.