Fentanyl Photo:VCG

Chinese embassies in the US and Mexico released a fact sheet and statement to refute US' latest charges against Chinese companies and individuals over the so-called crimes related to fentanyl production, distribution and sales, and urged the US not to create further obstacles to China-US counter-narcotics cooperation on Thursday and Friday.

China attaches great importance to drug law enforcement cooperation with Mexico, and the communication channels between the bilateral law enforcement agencies are smooth, the Chinese Embassy in Mexico stated on Friday, noting that China will continue to deepen all-round cooperation with other countries in the field of drug control.

China has actively carried out international cooperation on drug control and has signed 50 intergovernmental or interdepartmental documents on drug control cooperation with more than 30 countries and associations. China has also established an annual meeting mechanism with 13 countries, and has joined five multilateral drug control cooperation mechanisms including the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, as well as established 13 border drug control liaison offices with bordering countries, according to the statement.

China has maintained regular communication and coordination with dozens of countries, sharing experience and practices in drug control.

The Chinese Embassy in the US released a fact sheet on Thursday night, titled Counter Narcotics Efforts of China and The United States, saying the US continues to make false accusations, claiming "Chinese chemicals are flowing into Mexico to make fentanyl and then are smuggled into the US." However, China has never received any report or data from Mexico on the use of Chinese precursor chemicals for drug production, nor has the US provided any factual grounds about the flow of Chinese chemicals into Mexico for fentanyl production, reads the fact sheet.

Out of a sense of humanitarianism, China scheduled fentanyl-related substance as a class, the first country to do so in the world, which has played an important role in preventing the illicit manufacturing, trafficking and abuse of fentanyl.

Instead of giving China the credit for its contribution, the US imposed illegal sanctions on Chinese counter-narcotics institutions and then openly slandered China's counter-narcotics efforts and illegally sanctioned Chinese companies. The US has now gone even further by ensnaring and indicting Chinese nationals, reads the statement.

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, according to the fact sheet.

Against the backdrop of increasingly strict control of fentanyl substances in the world, including in China, the worsening fentanyl crisis and rising deaths caused by it in the US have shown that it has not addressed the crux of the problem.

The US should strengthen supervision and regulation of fentanyl related prescription and raise public awareness about it, which have been proved effective solutions worldwide, reads the fact sheet.

The Chinese Foreign Ministry said on June 24 that China strongly condemned US' latest charges against Chinese companies and individuals over the so-called crimes related to fentanyl production.

Such long-arm jurisdiction and bullyism that tramples on international law further undermine the lawful rights and interests of relevant Chinese institutions and nationals, and seriously undercut the foundation for China-US cooperation on counter-narcotics, said a Foreign Ministry spokesperson on June 24.

China urges the US to stop shifting the blame, stop smearing and attacking China, immediately lift all sanctions on Chinese counter-narcotics law enforcement institutions, stop using fentanyl-related issues as a pretext to sanction, indict or offer awards to hunt Chinese companies or nationals, stop the arbitrary detentions, and immediately release the Chinese nationals under illegal arrest, the spokesperson noted.

Global Times