Lin Jian

In response to remarks made by White House director of drug-control policy that progress had been made with China on fentanyl since China-US summit in San Francisco in November 2023 and progress cannot be allowed to slow down, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian stated the cooperation in drug control is one of the important consensuses reached during the meeting between the two heads of state in San Francisco, and China is willing to continue drug control cooperation with the US on the basis of equality, mutual benefit, and mutual respect.

Lin said it is hoped that the US side will recognize China's goodwill, value China's contributions and efforts, and refrain from undermining the foundation of cooperation between the two sides. He urged the US to work together with China to maintain the current positive state of China-US drug control cooperation.

Lin's remarks were made after Rahul Gupta, White House director of drug-control policy said progress had been made with China on fentanyl after San Francisco summit between the two heads of state last year, Reuters reported. 

Gupta noted that China had taken offline many websites offering fentanyl precursors, made arrests, and classified more than 50 controlled substances since he visited Beijing in June.

He said these steps had contributed to a fall in fentanyl deaths and progress cannot be allowed to slow down.

When asked about US president-elect Donald Trump's proposal to impose tariffs on China over fentanyl, Gupta said: "There's no harm in keeping the pressure. What we need to make sure is that the pressure is kept with a sense of understanding of what is already happening, and being aware of the progress that's already been made." 

In response, Lin said that the establishment of drug control cooperation is a key consensus reached during the San Francisco summit between the two heads of state. 

With China's proactive efforts, significant progress has been made in China-US drug control cooperation. The two countries have established a working group to collaborate on substance regulation, case investigations, technical exchanges, multilateral initiatives, and the removal of online advertisements, Li noted.

China is one of the countries with the strictest and most thorough drug control policies in the world. From the perspective of global drug governance and with a humanitarian spirit, China has supported the US in addressing fentanyl-related issues. In 2019, China became the first country to schedule all fentanyl-related substances, Li emphasized.

Global Times