WNAM Monitoring: The U.S. and China launched a joint counter-narcotics working group on Tuesday in the first overt sign of cooperation in tackling the spread of fentanyl since late 2019, before bilateral relations between the superpowers soured.
It follows a key summit in San Francisco in November where U.S. President Joe Biden and Chinese leader Xi Jinping agreed to work to curb fentanyl production and export, in a major breakthrough. “We had in-depth communication and were pragmatic. We reached common understanding on the work plan,” China’s Minister of Public Security Wang Xiaohong said at a joint address with the U.S. delegation before the group’s inauguration in Beijing.
He added that he hoped the two sides could accommodate each other’s concerns and “enhance and expand cooperation to provide more positive energy for stable, sound and sustainable China-U.S. relations”.
In Washington, White House national security spokesman John Kirby said both sides had committed to cooperate on increased law enforcement coordination to combat the distribution and export of precursor chemicals for the opioids, to address illicit financing and increase information sharing.
“So that’s a good start, but it is just a start. And there’s a lot more work to be done,” Kirby said, adding there would be another set of meetings on Wednesday.
