Fentanyl Photo:VCG

The Chinese Foreign Ministry on Wednesday slammed unreasonable US sanctions against Chinese entities and individuals over their alleged involvement in the production of illicit drugs, vowing to do what is necessary to safeguard the lawful rights and interests of Chinese companies and individuals.

On Tuesday, the US Department of the Treasury sanctioned 13 China-based entities and individuals, citing their alleged involvement in the international proliferation of equipment used to produce illicit drugs.

"The US has again brazenly sanctioned Chinese individuals and entities on the so-called grounds of drug-related crimes, which is a serious violation of the lawful rights and interests of the companies and individuals concerned. China strongly condemns this," Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson Mao Ning said at a routine press briefing on Wednesday.

The pretext of the fabricated US claims this time is that these Chinese entities and individuals are involved in the sale of pill press machines, dye molds and other equipment to the US and Mexico. However, it is widely known that pill press machines and dye molds are common commodities with legitimate uses and are widely used in normal industrial production. According to common practice across the world, ensuring that imported goods are not used for illicit purposes is not only the basic responsibility of the enterprises, but also the legal obligation of the government of the importing countries, Mao said, citing a response from the Chinese Embassy to the US.

The spokesperson compared the machines to a knife. "A knife could be used for both cutting vegetables and killing people. Who should be punished if a person holds a knife and attacks others, the knife holder or knife manufacturer? I believe it's crystal clear," Mao said.

"The US itself is the root cause of its drug problem. The US' unilateral sanctions against Chinese companies and citizens will add more obstacles to China-US cooperation rather than help solve its own problems," Mao said. She said the Chinese side will continue to do what is necessary to safeguard the lawful rights and interests of Chinese companies and individuals.

On Tuesday, the Chinese Embassy in the US condemned the US' latest unreasonable sanctions, stressing that the Chinese government takes a firm stance on counter-narcotics.

Guided by a humanitarian spirit, China has worked with the US to help solve its fentanyl abuse. In May 2019, China became the first country in the world to officially schedule fentanyl-related substances as a class, which has played an important role in preventing illicit manufacturing, trafficking and abuse of the substance, the embassy said in a statement on its website.

The US, however, in disregard of China's goodwill, has used the so-called human rights issues in Xinjiang to impose sanctions on the Institution of Forensic Science of the Ministry of Public Security and the National Narcotics Laboratory of China. Now the US is imposing new sanctions on Chinese companies and individuals in an attempt to blame China for its own domestic fentanyl problem. This has seriously eroded the foundation for China-US counter-narcotics cooperation, the embassy said.

Global Times