A report released on April 16 by the U.S. House of Representatives Select Committee on China concluded that the Chinese government is causing a social crisis in the United States with the drug epidemic, supporting companies that manufacture and export raw materials for the synthetic drug “fentanyl.” This report is noteworthy because it indicates the Chinese government’s involvement amid growing social problems of drug abuse in the U.S.
Fentanyl is manufactured by Chinese companies and exported to Mexico, where it is smuggled into the U.S. via drug cartels. This has led to serious social concerns.
According to the report, the Chinese government provides tax refunds and subsidies to companies that export fentanyl and its raw materials. For example, according to documents obtained by the committee, the tax refund program has encouraged the export of at least 17 types of illegal narcotics through 2018. Other examples include local governments subsidizing and awarding companies that deal in illegal synthetic drugs such as fentanyl.
The report also states that Chinese government agencies own shares in companies that sell illegal synthetic drugs, effectively making them state-owned enterprises. Among them, the world’s largest exporter of raw ingredients for fentanyl was “repeatedly praised by Communist Party officials” while openly engaged in the sales of illegal narcotics.
The report also noted that China is “the most advanced totalitarian surveillance country in human history” and could have cracked down on the production and export of illegal drugs, but has neglected to do so. When U.S. law enforcement agencies made formal requests to China for cooperation in the investigations, the Chinese authorities notified the companies and made them change their practices to prevent criminal activities from being exposed.
According to the report, Beijing considers the facilitation of fentanyl exports as part of its “asymmetric warfare” against the United States (a war in which military forces, strategies, and tactics differ significantly). Chinese military strategists cite from their books that drug wars are an effective means of asymmetric warfare, as it “wreaks havoc on other countries and provides enormous profits.”
The report then recommended that Congress create a task force to target the global supply chain of fentanyl and tighten sanctions against those involved in drug trafficking.
During last November’s U.S.-China summit, President Biden and President Xi Jinping agreed to crack down on Chinese companies that manufacture fentanyl precursors. According to the report, however, the Chinese government’s support for fentanyl exporters is ongoing, and no effective measures appear to have been taken.
Former Attorney General William Barr, testifying at a congressional hearing held on April 16, noted that “PRC (the People’s Republic of China) and CCP (the Chinese Communist Party) are not just bystanders.” He accused them of “actively sponsoring and encouraging and facilitating the production and export of fentanyl for distribution in the United States.”
Committee Chairman Mike Gallagher (R-WI) also stressed, “Through its actions, the Chinese Communist Party is telling us that it wants more fentanyl entering our country.” He then added, “It wants the societal chaos and devastation that has resulted from this epidemic. And yes, it wants more dead Americans.”
