China: U.S. demand spurs opioid crisis

BEIJING — The United States should look within to cut down demand for opioids that are fueling its deadly drug crisis rather than stressing unsubstantiated claims that China is the top source of these chemicals, a top Chinese drug enforcement official said Thursday.

China and the United States have worked to build a close working relationship to fight global flows of illicit synthetic drugs, but their collaboration remains fraught.

Yu Haibin of the China National Narcotics Control Commission told reporters that there was little evidence showing China was the source of much of the chemicals used in the production of the powerful opioid fentanyl.

President Donald Trump in November blamed a “flood of cheap and deadly” fentanyl made in China for the deadliest drug epidemic in U.S. history.

“China doesn’t deny that shipments to the U.S. happen, but there isn’t the proof to show how much — whether it’s 20 percent or 80 percent,” said Yu, adding that U.S. authorities have only sent him information about six shipments from China in the past year.

Yu urged the United States to share more data and police intelligence with Chinese authorities and said rampant overprescription of pain medication and lax cultural attitudes toward drugs had fueled massive demand for opioids in the U.S.