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The Justice Department on Friday filed criminal charges against four Chinese chemical manufacturing companies and eight individuals over allegations they illegally trafficked the chemicals used to make fentanyl—a highly addictive painkiller that has fueled the opioid crisis in the United States.
The indictments mark the first time the United States has sought to prosecute any of the Chinese companies responsible for manufacturing the precursor chemicals used to make the painkiller.
Earlier this week, Antony Blinken made the first visit to China by a U.S. secretary of state in five years and said he made clear that the United States needs much greater cooperation from China on stemming the flow of fentanyl.
During the visit China and the United States agreed to stabilize their intense rivalry so that it did not veer into conflict, but they failed to produce any breakthrough and the mood quickly soured again after U.S. President Joe Biden on Tuesday referred to Chinese leader Xi Jinping as a dictator.
The companies at the heart of the three separate indictments are accused of selling precursor chemicals to the Sinaloa Cartel in Mexico, which in turn has flooded the United States with the drug.
