US wants coalition of nations to engage China in curbing synthetic drugs

US wants coalition of nations to engage China in curbing synthetic drugs

WASHINGTON, July 6 (Reuters) – The U.S. wants other countries to engage China on limiting the flow of synthetic drugs, the State Department’s top official on narcotics said on Thursday, as Washington complains of a lack of co-operation by Beijing in combating their illegal trade.

On the eve of a U.S.-led conference on the issue, the official, Todd Robinson, said China needed to do more to disrupt illicit supply chains, but it was still unclear if it would join the meeting.

“We’ve invited China,” Robinson, the assistant secretary of state for international narcotics and law enforcement, told reporters on a telephone call.

“We don’t have any indication at the moment that they’re going to participate.”

Although Beijing “had not engaged” with U.S. officials on the issue in recent months, Washington still actively sought its help, he added.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken will host on Friday the first virtual meeting of at least 84 countries to set up a “global coalition” to combat synthetic drugs.

The gathering is part of a Biden administration policy to curb the highly addictive painkiller fentanyl that has fueled the country’s opioid crisis.

“This isn’t about blame, and this isn’t about pressure,” Robinson said.

“Part of the reason we’re trying to bring this coalition together is to engage other countries in their efforts against the supply chain, and part of their responsibility is going to be engaging with the People’s Republic of China (PRC),” he said, using the formal name of the country.

China is a major producer of the chemicals required to make fentanyl, which is frequently smuggled over the U.S.-Mexico border.

Amid a deterioration in ties between the rivals, China has not been helpful in cracking down on the flow of fentanyl precursor chemicals or on money laundering related to trafficking, U.S. officials say.

A spokesperson for the Chinese embassy said it was willing to work with other nations.

“China is ready to work with other countries, including the United States, to establish co-operative relations featuring equality, mutual respect and trust, and win-win cooperation,” the spokesperson, Liu Pengyu, said in a statement.

“We are willing to carry out counter-narcotics co-operation to share experience in drug control and jointly tackle the drug problems.”

Beijing has said Washington should stop using the fentanyl crisis as a pretext to impose sanctions on Chinese companies, and state media have repeatedly said addiction and demand for the drug are U.S. domestic problems.

“We hope the U.S. side will take concrete action to address China’s concerns and create conditions for more bilateral and multilateral cooperation on drug control,” Liu added.

Almost 80,000 Americans died from opioid-related overdoses in 2022, the Centers for Disease Control says.

The U.S. Justice Department filed criminal charges in June against four Chinese chemical manufacturing companies and eight people over accusations that they illegally trafficked the chemicals used to make fentanyl.