Illustration: Chen Xia/GT
On Tuesday, China released a white paper titled "Controlling Fentanyl-Related Substances - China's Contribution," which outlines China's efforts to control fentanyl-related substances and its international anti-drug cooperation in recent years, such as in-depth cooperation with other countries including the US in dealing with the problem of fentanyl-related substances and their precursors, demonstrating to the world China's commitment to drug control as a responsible major power with detailed data and cases. This white paper once again exposed the hypocrisy of the US government's recent use of the so-called fentanyl issue as an excuse to impose an additional 10 percent tariff on products imported from China, rendering the US "fentanyl lie" self-defeating.
The reason why the fentanyl issue in the US is so serious has never been external; it has nothing to do with China, which strictly prohibits drugs. Illicit fentanyl started to enter the US market as early as the 1980s. Later, media revealed that US pharmaceutical companies concealed the addictive properties of synthetic opioids and that doctors overprescribed painkillers, leading to widespread addiction among patients. Statistics show that with 5 percent of the world's population, the US consumes 80 percent of the world's opioids, but still has not permanently scheduled fentanyl-related substances as a class. The almost abnormal demand has boosted the development of the illegal fentanyl market, fundamentally contributing to the proliferation of fentanyl in the US.
In addition, the lack of social governance in the US has exacerbated the drug problem. US Vice President JD Vance described a similar situation in his autobiography. Many low-income families live in chaotic community environments with a lack of education and supervision. This has led to many children living in adverse conditions of drug abuse and trafficking, forming a vicious cycle that is difficult to break.
Ironically, when faced with this issue, some American politicians do not choose to strengthen domestic drug regulations or improve social conditions. Instead, they distort the suffering of the American people into a political excuse, even using it as a justification to wield the tariff stick to coerce and pressure other countries. Even The New York Times has described "fentanyl" as the US government's "diplomatic weapon" against China. This addiction to politicizing and instrumentalizing everything may pose an even greater threat to American society.
In 2023, data from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention showed that overdose deaths from synthetic opioids (primarily fentanyl) were approximately 74,000. Many US officials pointed fingers at Canada, Mexico, and China. However, the fact is that China did not export any form or dosage of fentanyl-related drugs to North America that year. Yet, this chemical equation is often framed as a geopolitical issue. Whenever the US government finds a new need to exert diplomatic pressure on China, the fentanyl issue - along with the suffering of the American people - is repeatedly amplified and exploited by some American politicians to shift blame onto China.
China and the US have previously engaged in extensive anti-drug cooperation, achieving notable results that are widely recognized. Many American social groups and organizations have expressed their gratitude to China on multiple occasions for this collaboration. China has consistently maintained a "zero tolerance" attitude toward drugs. On May 1, 2019, the Chinese government innovatively implemented classification-based control of fentanyl-like substances, becoming one of the first countries in the world to do so. This proactive and highly responsible approach to taking precautions against any potential drug hazards benefits people around the world, including those in China and the US.
In fact, since the resumption of anti-drug cooperation between China and the US in January of last year, China has added 46 new psychoactive substances to its controlled substances list, and later added seven substances to its list of regulated precursor chemicals. These tangible advancements and achievements have been recognized by multiple US departments, including the White House, the State Department, the Department of Justice, and the Department of Homeland Security. However, just a few months later, the US side seems to have chosen to turn a blind eye, which is truly perplexing.
The true resilience of China-US relations lies in the common interests of the two peoples and the trends of global development, which have been fully demonstrated in every instance of cooperation between China and the US. If the US genuinely wants to address the fentanyl issue, it should engage in consultations with China based on equality, respect, and mutual benefit to address each other's concerns. Shifting the responsibility for domestic governance failures onto others and abusing tariffs as a means of pressure and coercion will not cure America's ills, nor will it help Washington achieve its political objectives. Instead, it will only further expose America's hegemonic logic and strategic anxieties to the world, ultimately leading to self-inflicted consequences.
