US Attorney General Merrick Garland announced on June 23 that the US government had charged four Chinese companies and eight Chinese individuals with trafficking chemicals used to produce fentanyl. "These companies and their employees knowingly conspired to manufacture deadly fentanyl for distribution in the United States," AFP quoted Mr. Garland as saying.
“Just one of these China-based chemical companies shipped more than 200 kilograms of fentanyl-related precursors to the United States for the purpose of producing 50 kilograms of fentanyl, a quantity that could contain enough fentanyl doses to kill 25 million Americans,” Garland asserted.
US Attorney General Merrick Garland (center) announces the arrests of employees of a Chinese chemical company as part of an investigation into the fentanyl precursor supply chain during a press conference in Washington DC on June 23.
Two of the eight were arrested as the US Justice Department stepped up its crackdown on the synthetic opioid responsible for hundreds of thousands of overdose deaths over the past decade.
This is the first time the US has prosecuted Chinese companies for trafficking fentanyl precursors within the US, instead of shipping the substance to Mexico, according to AFP.
In response, China's Foreign Ministry said: "This is a typical example of arbitrary detention and unilateral sanctions. It is completely illegal and seriously harms the basic human rights of Chinese citizens and Chinese companies. China strongly condemns this."
China's Foreign Ministry also said the allegations "seriously undermine the foundation of anti-drug cooperation between China and the United States".
Attorney General Garland's announcement came just days after US Secretary of State Antony Blinken visited Beijing and met with Chinese President Xi Jinping.
Fentanyl has become a key issue in the tense relationship between Washington and Beijing, and Mr. Blinken also raised the issue during his recent visit to China.
Fentanyl is a synthetic opioid that is 50 times more potent than heroin, and is much easier and cheaper to produce. Beijing listed all fentanyl-related substances as controlled substances in 2019, regulating their production and sale, according to AFP.
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