House panel says China subsidizes fentanyl production to fuel drug crisis
WASHINGTON » China is fueling the fentanyl crisis in the U.S. by directly subsidizing the manufacturing of materials that are used by traffickers to make the drug outside the country, according to a report released Tuesday by a special House committee focused on countering the Chinese government.
Committee investigators said they accessed a government website that revealed tax rebates for the production of specific fentanyl precursors as well as other synthetic drugs as long as those companies sell them outside of China.
“Through its actions, as our report has revealed, the Chinese Communist Party is telling us that it wants more fentanyl entering our country,” said Rep. Mike Gallagher, the Republican chairman of the special House committee. “It wants the chaos and devastation that has resulted from the epidemic.”
In November, President Joe Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping announced a resumption of bilateral cooperation on counternarcotics with a focus on reducing the flow of precursor chemicals and synthetic drug trafficking. But the congressional report raises questions about whether China is following through.
The report’s findings were released Tuesday as part of a hearing examining China’s role in the fentanyl epidemic in the U.S. Most overdose deaths in the U.S. continue to be linked to fentanyl and other synthetic opioids. Inexpensive fentanyl is increasingly cut into other drugs, often without the buyers’ knowledge.
The Chinese government not only subsidizes the manufacturing of precursor chemicals, but the report says it has also thwarted investigations into illicit manufacturers by warning the targets of an investigation when U.S. law enforcement has sent a formal request for assistance. Investigators said multiple current and former federal agents have described the notification of targets, leading those targets to revamp operations and make it harder to detect their activities.
Former U.S. Attorney General William Barr told lawmakers in Tuesday’s hearing that it’s hard to believe that a country with the most pervasive surveillance system in the world is not fully aware of the massive drug trafficking taking place. He said the committee’s report “uncovered persuasive evidence” that China’s government is not just a bystander, but is “knee deep” in sponsoring and facilitating the export of fentanyl precursors.
Barr recommended the U.S. use its trade and economic power to seek greater enforcement from Chinese authorities. He also said victims should bring civil actions against companies and individuals involved in distributing the precursors and synthetic drugs.
“I don’t think we can count on their goodwill, as we have in the past,” Barr said.
A Chinese official in a statement didn’t directly address the allegation of China subsidizing the production of fentanyl precursors, but the official did list several steps the nation has taken to curb fentanyl production.
Following the Biden-xi meeting in November, China issued a notice to remind relevant enterprises and individuals to be cautious in the sale of substances used for producing narcotic drugs. And on Jan. 30, a China-u.s. counter-narcotics working group officially launched, said Liu Pengyu, a spokesperson for the Chinese embassy in Washington.
China has also pushed forward with a campaign that has involved “severely cracking down on illegal activities involving smuggling, manufacturing, trafficking and abuse of fentanyl substances and their precursor chemicals,” Pengyu said.