China: Fentanyl problem ‘made in USA’

A spokesperson for the Chinese Foreign Ministry is pinning blame on the United States for the fentanyl crisis following a letter from Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador asking for Chinese assistance in quelling illicit fentanyl trade.

“The root cause of the overdose lies in the U.S. itself. The problem is completely ‘made in USA,'” the Foreign Ministry’s Mao Ning said at a press briefing Thursday. 

“The U.S. needs to face up to its own problems, take more substantial measures to strengthen domestic regulation and reduce demand. It cannot relapse into the illness of ‘letting others take the pill when it is sick,’ she added.

Mao’s statement came in response to a question about a letter sent by López Obrador to Chinese President Xi Jinping last month, in which the Mexican president falsely claimed that fentanyl is produced in Asia and merely trafficked through Mexico.

López Obrador’s letter and reiterated false claim on fentanyl’s origins followed a meeting with U.S. legislators in which he pledged to contact Chinese authorities directly to address trans-Pacific trafficking of fentanyl precursors.

According to U.S. authorities and most independent observers, the bulk of illicit fentanyl consumed in America is produced in clandestine laboratories in Mexico from chemical precursors sourced mainly in China.

Yet López Obrador has turned his denial of that fact into official Mexican policy, opening a window for China to deny its role in the crisis.

“There is no such thing as illegal trafficking of fentanyl between China and Mexico,” Mao said. 

“We two countries have a smooth channel of counternarcotics cooperation, and the competent authorities of the two countries maintain sound communication. China has not been notified by Mexico on the seizure of scheduled fentanyl precursors from China,” she added.

Mao noted China’s strong anti-narcotics policies and said China was the first to schedule fentanyl as a dangerous recreational drug in 2019.

In his letter, López Obrador touted the Mexican government’s closure of 1,383 clandestine drug laboratories, which he said were used to “mix [fentanyl] with other drugs and several chemical precursors.”

“I reiterate that fentanyl is not produced in our country and that only 30 percent of what is consumed in the United States crosses through our border,” he wrote, contradicting U.S. officials and most independent analysts, who agree that illicit fentanyl consumed in America is largely produced in Mexico and trafficked across the U.S.-Mexico border, primarily through established ports of entry.

López Obrador, who was rankled by GOP legislators — including Sen. Lindsey Graham (S.C.) — threatening to designate Mexican cartels as terrorist organizations, paving the way for unilateral military action and global sanctions, has lashed out against the United States, blaming different U.S. institutions for the fentanyl crisis.

In a tweet April 1 and again at his daily press conference on Tuesday, López Obrador railed against the NBA’s allowance for players to consume marijuana as evidence of a double standard in U.S. drug policy.

“They threaten to invade, they sell high-powered weapons in their flea markets, they do nothing for their youth, they suffer — regrettably — of the terrible and deadly pandemic of fentanyl, but they don’t address the causes,” he tweeted.

In his letter to Xi, López Obrador asked for assistance in identifying Chinese exporters of fentanyl, but not in responding to threats to designate cartels as terrorist organizations.

“We come to you, President Xi Jinping, not to ask for your support before these rude threats, but to request for humanitarian reasons your help in controlling the shipments of fentanyl that may be forwarded from China to our country,” he wrote.

While Mao rebuked the United States for the threats levied by lawmakers such as Graham, she also pushed Mexico to up its anti-narcotics efforts.

“China firmly supports Mexico in defending independence and autonomy and opposing foreign interference, and calls on relevant country to stop hegemonic practices against Mexico. At the same time, we hope the Mexican side will also take stronger counternarcotics actions,” Mao said.