STEMMING THE FLOW

China Announces Fentanyl Crackdown in Win for Trump

President previously accused Beijing of not doing enough on the deadly drug.

The Chinese government will add all fentanyl-related substances to its list of controlled drugs from the start of next month. It’s a win for President Trump, who has accused China of not doing enough to stem the flow of drugs coming into the U.S. from Asia. The move by Beijing is aimed at slowing the manufacturing and distribution of the drugs. Fentanyl was reportedly used in one in four overdose deaths in the U.S. in 2018, killing just over 18,000 people in one year. Trump praised China in December 2018 when President Xi Jinping first agreed to the move, writing on Twitter at the time: “This could be a game changer on what is considered to be the worst and most dangerous, addictive and deadly substance of them all.” However, China has insisted the export of drugs to the U.S. is “extremely limited,” with Vice Commissioner of the China National Narcotics Control Commission Liu Yuejin saying: “We believe that the United States itself is the main factor in the abuse of fentanyl there.”

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