The Global Times provided a detailed analysis of the origins and developments of the fentanyl crisis in the US in previous in-depth report, highlighting the role of the American pharmaceutical industry and the negligence of government regulatory agencies. In this follow-up report, we reveal why the US government continues to shirk responsibility for the fentanyl abuse crisis, shifting the blame onto other countries, using it as a tool for extortion and attacks against China.
China was, in fact, the first country in the world to officially scheduled all fentanyl-related substances in 2019. Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning recently stated that China has carried out extensive and in-depth counternarcotics cooperation with the US, which has been highly productive.
"China remains ready to continue counternarcotics cooperation with the US on the basis of equality, mutual benefit and mutual respect. We hope the US will not take China's goodwill for granted and work to ensure that the hard-won positive dynamics will stay in the counternarcotics cooperation," Mao said.
Conflating border issue with fentanyl crisis
According to US media outlets Politico, in this year's US elections, both Republican and Democratic presidential candidates reached a rare consensus - the American drug problem is entirely the fault of drug dealers.
Republicans have heavily criticized Democrats for allowing fentanyl to surge into the country, while Democrats have responded by claiming that they have cracked down on fentanyl traffickers, Politico reported in October.
The New York Times reported in July that Donald Trump's first television ad attacking Harris in the summer featured footage of her dancing at an event celebrating the 50th anniversary of hip-hop music and images of migrants crossing the border. The ad claimed that "on Harris' watch," over 250,000 people died from fentanyl overdose.
Facing attacks, Harris emphasized that during her visit to the US-Mexico border in September, she would make disrupting fentanyl's flow into the US a top priority.
A spokesperson for the Harris campaign stated that she would target the global fentanyl supply chain and fight for more support for Americans battling addiction, NBC News reported.
A Politico report noted in October that this consensus reflected by both parties represents a shared sentiment among American voters - that most fentanyl comes from Mexico, and the country's approach to drug addiction has become hardening.
Regarding why both parties choose to link border crossings with the fentanyl crisis, Erika Franklin Fowler, a professor at Wesley University, analyzed, "It's an easy shortcut in a 30-second commercial to tie a broader issue to one that has an easy explanation."
Failed 'blame game'
Although the root of the opioid epidemic lies in failed US domestic drug policies, both American political parties have "unanimously" chosen to deflect responsibility and blame other countries for the fentanyl crisis. This narrative has also gained traction among the American public.
Li Haidong, a professor at the China Foreign Affairs University, told the Global Times that when facing unsolvable domestic issues, US politicians often resort to blaming others to gain political capital within the country's unique electoral system.
According to an op-ed published by American news agency Truthout, both Republicans and Democrats blame the fentanyl epidemic on border issues, which is a dangerous shortsighted approach. "Of course, this rhetoric aims to sow fear; it is not rooted in truth," the article argues.
According to the article, 93 percent of fentanyl seizures in 2023 happened at legal US-Mexico crossing points, and over 86 percent of those convicted of trafficking fentanyl were US citizens, and "almost all fentanyl is smuggled for US consumers."
Unresolved issue
In recent years, the US has faced a severe fentanyl abuse crisis and the root cause lies in the US itself, especially in the relaxation of opioid prescription regulations, Hua Zhendong, technical director of the National Narcotic Control Commission's National Narcotics Laboratory, told the Global Times.
In October 2017, then-President Trump declared a national public health emergency regarding the abuse of fentanyl and other opioids, according to The New York Times.
According to Associated Press, to promote federal funding for the "border wall" for which he had long advocated, Trump stated in a speech in January 2019 about US-Mexico border security, "Our southern border is a pipeline for vast quantities of illegal drugs, including meth, heroin, cocaine, and fentanyl," he said.
Trump also demanded that China "cooperate" with the US government in combating fentanyl and linked China's fentanyl exports to US-China trade issues. After Biden took office, he followed suit and blamed China for the fentanyl crisis.
In a humanitarian and responsible manner, China classified all fentanyl-related substances as controlled substances starting May 1, 2019, making it the only country in the world to formally regulate fentanyl-related substances. By contrast, the US has yet to implement a permanent classification for fentanyl-related substances.
Since the scheduling of fentanyl-related substances, according to the briefing from its law enforcement agencies, the US has not seized any fentanyl and its analogues originating from China since September 2019. Despite this, the US continues to accuse China of supplying precursor chemicals for fentanyl production in Mexico.
Yu Haibin, a second-level inspector at the National Narcotics Control Office and the Ministry of Public Security, told the Global Times in a recent interview that the US believes that the chemicals used to produce fentanyl-like substances in Mexico are from China, as China is the world's largest producer and consumer market for chemicals. But the logic "is completely impractical." He explained that chemicals have a dual nature: They may be used by criminals to manufacture drugs, but more often they are used in industrial production and daily life.
Alleviation under cooperation
In recent years, the US government has implemented various measures to address the rampant issue of opioids, such as fentanyl, and China has provided support to the US based on humanitarian principles. The Global Times learned that since the consensus on drug control cooperation was reached during the meeting between the two heads of state in San Francisco, significant progress has been made in drug control cooperation between the two countries in multiple areas. The two nations have not only communicated frequently about drug control cooperation and conveyed positive messages of collaboration, but they have also achieved cooperative results in the regulation of controlled substances, as well as practical progress in intelligence sharing and case collaboration.
As for the current state of China-US drug control cooperation, Yu emphasized that such cooperation between China and the US is closely related to the overall trend of diplomatic relations between the two countries, and cannot exist in isolation.
"On the basis of mutual respect, peaceful coexistence, and win-win cooperation, we are willing to actively engage in drug control cooperation with the US government. However, if the US continues to ignore China's sincerity and efforts while simultaneously suppressing and pressuring China in various fields, and even infringing upon China's bottom line, we will have no choice but to respond accordingly,"Yu noted.