China’s top drug control body has hit back at recent claims by US President Donald Trump that Chinese suppliers are fueling America’s opioid crisis.
Yu said the Chinese government found Trump’s tweet “completely unacceptable.”
“The United States has no proof that most fentanyl in the country comes from China,” he said. “It’s highly irresponsible to draw such a conclusion based on some individual cases.”
Disagreements over the source of fentanyl in the United States and what to do about it are adding tension to US-China relations, which are already strained by disputes over trade and the South China Sea.
Washington is convinced that China is the primary source of fentanyl found within US borders, following a 2017 US Congressional report citing law enforcement and drug investigators.
In a cabinet meeting earlier in August, Trump described opioids coming into the United States from China and Mexico as American-killing “garbage,” with the situation being “almost a form of warfare.”
Despite improving intelligence-sharing between the two countries, Yu said US officials had only provided China with “dozens” of leads since 2017, which paled in comparison to the millions of opioid abuse cases in the United States.
Beijing officials announced on Wednesday that China will list an additional 32 New Psychoactive Substances (NPS) as controlled substances from September, making it illegal to manufacture, sell or even possess them without authorization.
