Packets of fentanyl mostly in powder form and methamphetamine, which US Customs and Border Protection say they seized from a truck crossing into Arizona from Mexico, is on display during a news conference at the Port of Nogales, Arizona, US on January 31 2019. Photo: VCG

The US has begun to realize China's efforts and determination to regulate fentanyl since the two countries began to collaborate more closely, said an expert from China's National Narcotics Control Commission (NNCC), after a US drug regulator gave China credit for its work in the field.

The US recently sent several delegations to work with China on fentanyl regulation, and the more they communicate, the more the US side can understand China's determination and efforts on cracking down fentanyl-related crimes, Hua Zhendong, technical director of the NNCC national narcotics laboratory, told the Global Times on Thursday.

Hua's comments came after Jim Carroll, director of the US Office of National Drug Control Policy, dubbed by media as the "White House drug czar," said in an interview with the USA Today in December that "we're still seeing more or less the same volume of fentanyl coming into the US, but it's no longer coming directly from China. It's coming in from new places."

Hua said there were never large volumes of fentanyl smuggled to the US from China. "Much of the fentanyl arrived in the US from South American countries, such as Mexico."

US law enforcement departments reported that from October 2018 to March 2019, 536 kilograms of fentanyl substances had been seized, but only 5 kilograms came from China, according to a report sent to the Global Times by the NNCC.

US authorities made 229 fentanyl busts during that period, and only 17 involved Chinese smugglers, said the report. 

Yu Haibin, deputy director of the NNCC said at a November conference that there's no evidence to support the accusation that China is the major source of fentanyl in the US. The facts show that the US opioid crisis is a result of its huge domestic demand and loose supervision, Yu said.

Global Times