BEIJING (Xinhua) A spokesperson for China’s Ministry of Public Security on Sunday expressed strong dissatisfaction with and firm opposition to the U.S. decision to impose a 10-percent additional tariff on imports from China under the pretext of fentanyl-related issues.
China is one of the countries with the strictest drug control policies and the most rigorous enforcement in the world, said the spokesperson, adding that China has consistently and resolutely fulfilled its international drug control obligations and actively engaged in international anti-drug cooperation with countries around the world, including the United States.
Despite the absence of widespread abuse domestically, China became the first country in the world to officially schedule fentanyl-related substances as a class in 2019 out of humanitarian goodwill and at the request of the U.S. side, said the spokesperson. However, the United States has not scheduled fentanyl-related substances as a class on a permanent basis.
Since China’s regulation, there have been no reports from the United States of seizures of such substances originating from China, added the spokesperson.
In recent years, China and the United States have made visible progress in practical cooperation on drug control in such areas as substance regulation, intelligence exchange, and case cooperation, producing tangible benefits, according to the spokesperson.
The spokesperson noted that the root cause of the fentanyl crisis in the United States lies in itself, and reducing domestic drug demand and strengthening law enforcement cooperation are the fundamental solutions.
Shifting blame onto other nations not only fails to resolve the issue but also erodes the foundation of trust and cooperation in the field of drug control between China and the United States, said the spokesperson.
China urges the United States to correct its wrongdoings and safeguard the hard-won progress in bilateral drug control cooperation, so as to promote the stable, healthy, and sustainable development of China-U.S. relations, the spokesperson said.
