China to reinforce regulations on fentanyl chemicals: White House

By Diyar Guldogan

WASHINGTON (AA) - China will put tighter restrictions on three chemicals used to produce illicit fentanyl, the White House said on Tuesday, calling it "a valuable step forward."

This was the third such significant action by China since Washington and Beijing resumed bilateral counter-narcotics cooperation in 2023 after a meeting of US President Joe Biden and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping, National Security Council acting spokesperson Sean Savett said in a statement.

"This action follows last week’s senior official Counternarcotics Working Group meeting between the United States and the PRC (China), where the two countries discussed key initiatives, including ways to increase law enforcement cooperation, disrupt the illicit financing of transnational criminal organizations, and accelerate the scheduling of precursor chemicals," Savett added.

Last year, the US and China restarted cooperation against the illegal drug trade, working to reduce the flow of precursor chemicals and pill presses fueling the fentanyl crisis.