Just four years ago, a joint American and Chinese effort to stem the flow of fentanyl produced in China from reaching the United States appeared set to take off.
Beijing had unveiled a sweeping new law banning the synthetic opioid, leading the Trump administration to praise China’s top leader, Xi Jinping, for “a wonderful humanitarian gesture.”Soon, Chinese and American law enforcement agents joined forces to investigate and prosecute fentanyl traffickers in China.
But today, cooperation between the two countries on fentanyl is at an impasse.
Mutual efforts to crack down on a narcotic responsible for tens of thousands of drug overdoses in the United States each year have been thwarted by wider geopolitical tensions over trade, human rights, Russia and Taiwan.
The failure to cooperate on fentanyl interdiction is emblematic of the myriad ways the bilateral relationship has run aground.
Persons:
Trump, China’s, Xi Jinping, Antony J, Blinken
Locations:
China, United States, Beijing, Russia, Taiwan