China agrees to crack down on fentanyl precursor chemicals with new controls

Can you believe it just 83 days before the US presidential election?

Is China betting that Trump wins the election and they want to appease the presumed winner? 

Or does China want to support the Dimocratic Party candidates?

Earlier today, I blogged here about this issue of unconventional warfare of the Communist Party of China against the US!

"China will impose new controls on three essential precursor chemicals used in the illicit manufacture of the synthetic opioid fentanyl. According to a White House announcement, the new regulations covering norfentanyl, 4-anilinopiperidine (4-AP), and 1-boc-4-AP will enter force on 1 September. ...
But according to a US congressional committee report that designation left ‘a gaping loophole’ for fentanyl precursors. As a result Chinese chemical manufacturers pivoted to selling these ingredients to the North American drug cartels. ..."

"Today’s action represents the third major scheduling action since President Biden’s negotiations to resume bilateral counternarcotics cooperation with the PRC

Today, White House Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) Director Dr. Rahul Gupta released the following statement on the People’s Republic of China (PRC) announcement to schedule seven new substances – including three critical fentanyl precursor chemicals: norfentanyl, 4-ap, and 1-boc-4-ap. Today’s action represents the third major scheduling action from the PRC since President Biden negotiated the resumption of counternarcotics cooperation with the PRC in November 2023. Today’s announcement also follows the meeting of U.S.-PRC Bilateral Counternarcotics Working Group held in Washington, DC last week. ..."

China cracks down on fentanyl precursor chemicals | News | Chemistry World

White House Drug Policy Director Statement on PRC Fentanyl Precursor Scheduling Actions (original press release, dated 8/6/2024)

What are the parallels between China's 19th-Century Opium Crisis and the current fentanyl crisis in the United States?

Recommendable!

The article below refers to the two Opium Wars between 1839 and 1860. Back then China blamed Western powers for destroying their society.

How much is the Communist Party of China responsible e.g. for the current  fentanyl epidemic in the US?

Is this part of unconventional warfare against open societies?

They say history does not repeat, but it rhymes!

"Deaths involving synthetic opioids—primarily fentanyl—have risen sharply in recent years. According to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, there were nearly 74,000 such deaths in 2022. Although these losses are staggering, America's opioid crisis is not without historical precedent, say RAND experts. At the beginning of the 19th century, widespread addiction to opium in China destroyed millions of lives and ravaged the country. Breaking down China's history of being blighted by drugs reveals insights that may help the United States “fight the human and societal damage that fentanyl inflicts on Americans today.” ..."

"... China's history of being blighted by drugs can provide the United States with insights into ways to fight the human and societal damage that fentanyl inflicts on Americans today. ...

A key feature of China's opium epidemic is that it was state-sponsored. In the early 19th century, British merchants wanted to sell Indian-grown opium in China, while Chinese officials attempted to crack down on this illegal trade. Rather than aiming to constrain the opium trade, however, the British government not only encouraged but advanced it. ...

The Chinese Communist Party prides itself on having largely eliminated the scourge of opium consumption since it seized power in 1949. The communists have not, however, stopped the production and distribution of fentanyl precursors that are used to make fentanyl in Mexico for export to the United States. ...

While Britain, not America, was primarily responsible for inflicting drugs on China, the United States was also not blameless. Not only did it play a role in the Second Opium War and subsequent encroachments on Chinese territory, but there were also U.S. merchants involved in the opium trade, who operated in China under unequal treaties imposed by the U.S. government. ...

There is no explicit proof that the Chinese Communist Party is deliberately conducting or permitting the export of fentanyl or fentanyl precursors through malign neglect, though a recent report (PDF) highlights the Chinese government's tolerance of select organized crime networks. ...

There is no explicit proof that the Chinese Communist Party is deliberately conducting or permitting the export of fentanyl or fentanyl precursors through malign neglect, though a recent report (PDF) highlights the Chinese government's tolerance of select organized crime networks.

It is clear, however, that a totalitarian government—one that has been ruthless in punishing drug dealers, other criminals, and dissidents inside China—has not been as successful in countering drug flows from its shores. ..."

Policy Currents Newsletter: August 13, 2024 | RAND

Countering Fentanyl with Diplomacy