Wednesday, 17 April 2024

Chinese Communist Party (CCP) Subsidizing the Fentanyl Crisis

 

Member of a Chinese military medical team works at a laboratory for testing COVID-19 at the No. 1 Defence Services General Hospital in Mingaladon township, Yangon, Myanmar, April 30, 2020. A team of medical personnel from the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) provided assistance to Myanmar military in building a laboratory for testing COVID-19. (Xinhua/Zhang Dongqiang)

 

The investigation by the Select Committee on The CCP’s Role in the Fentanyl Crisis reveals that the CCP subsidizes PRC companies producing fentanyl precursor chemicals for export, thus knowingly exacerbating the US drug crisis.

In his State of the Union Address on March 7, 2024, President Biden acknowledged Fentanyl as one of the most significant threats confronting the United States.  The president’s assertion aligns with the Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) Annual Threat Assessment for 2024, which identifies fentanyl as the second-largest threat, following terrorism. The report also states that DHS expects “illegal drugs produced in Mexico and sold in the United States will continue to kill more Americans than any other threat.”

According to a DHS Fact Sheet regarding the State of the Union Address, the fentanyl crisis “originates with China-based entities that manufacture and distribute the chemicals used to produce the fentanyl fueling American overdose deaths.” The CCP manufactures 98% of the global supply of precursor chemicals used to produce fentanyl. The select committee not only uncovered CCP subsidies for fentanyl but also for numerous other synthetic and illicit drugs.

The DHS Fact Sheet provides additional details, stating that “DHS participated in the development of a new Counternarcotics Working Group with China to disrupt the manufacture and flow of illicit synthetic drugs.” Given the emerging evidence of CCP’s direct involvement in the fentanyl crisis, this initiative appears ironic and likely ineffective in halting its spread. 

In 2023, the US House of Representatives passed the bipartisan Stop Chinese Fentanyl Act, which amends the Fentanyl Sanctions Act. The latter calls for sanctions against Chinese entities as “foreign opioid traffickers” if they produce, sell, finance, or transport synthetic opioids or precursors.” It is evident that numerous government agencies, along with Congress and the White House, recognize fentanyl as one of the most pressing issues facing the US, responsible for the most American fatalities. They all acknowledge China as the source. Despite this consensus, the president continues to pursue efforts to ‘work with’ Beijing rather than directly holding the CCP accountable.

US law enforcement entities have reported informing their Chinese government contacts about the companies manufacturing and exporting fentanyl, yet the CCP has not taken any action. The Bill specifies that Chinese entities could face sanctions if they “fail to take credible steps to prevent opioid trafficking, including through cooperation with U.S. counternarcotics efforts and know-your-customer procedures.” It appears that the CCP is now subject to sanctions, given its lack of cooperation with US law enforcement and failure to halt the fentanyl flow.

The House Foreign Affairs Committee issued a warning in 2017-2018 through a report titled ‘TACKLING FENTANYL: THE CHINA CONNECTION,’ identifying China as the source of the fentanyl crisis. However, to date, the White House has not held the CCP accountable.

The CCP denies any knowledge of or culpability in the problem. Liu Pengyu, a spokesperson for the PRC embassy in Washington D.C., stated in an email, “It is very clear that there is no fentanyl problem in China, and the fentanyl crisis in the United States is not caused by the Chinese side, and blindly blaming China cannot solve the U.S. own problem.” These are not the words of a government willing to cooperate. It is astounding that this statement came from an official CCP source, just weeks after the President’s State of the Union Address where he claimed his administration was working closely with the CCP on this issue.

The PRC Embassy’s statement underscores the folly of the Biden administration’s continued belief that they can work with the CCP to stop fentanyl and to fix a number of other global issues caused by the CCP, everything from China trade cheating to threats against Taiwan and the Philippines, to Beijing’s support of Russia in Ukraine, and ongoing support for Iran and the legitimization of Hamas. Given the CCP’s active involvement in these activities, it’s evident that Xi Jinping is aware of and likely orchestrating them, suggesting they won’t simply stop.

The CCP: An Enemy, Not a Competitor or Partner

The US Intelligence Community (IC), in its Annual Threat Assessment, and the Department of Defense (DoD) in its China Military Power report, both identify China as the primary threat to the US. Both reports from the IC and DoD elaborate on how the CCP’s strategy involves a whole-of-government approach known as Military Civil Fusion (MCF), which utilizes for-profit private entities across various industries and fields to further the state’s policy objectives. Evidently, this strategy extends to the chemical industry, which is being exploited to harm Americans and undermine American society through the distribution of deadly and illicit drugs.

Given that US intelligence and defense authorities are unequivocal about the CCP’s intent to supplant the United States, it is illogical to believe that the two countries can cooperate or that the CCP will take steps to improve America’s position.

The manufacture and distribution of chemicals in China is regarded as a sensitive domain, tightly regulated by the CCP, requiring permits and government approval for manufacturing or exporting. This implies that the CCP was aware of the production and export of fentanyl precursor chemicals. Now that the Select Committee has uncovered not only the CCP’s awareness but also its subsidization of the manufacture and export of fentanyl precursors, it becomes evident that the CCP is endorsing this activity and actively contributing to the deaths of Americans. With two hundred Americans dying of fentanyl overdoses every day, the CCP is killing as many Americans as the 9/11 terrorists, every two weeks.

Up to this point, the Stop Chinese Fentanyl Act of 2023 has only cleared the House and has not been signed into law. Should it become law, it appears that the entire CCP would be deemed in violation. Regrettably, although the media, the public, and some congressional representatives express outrage over the recent revelations, it seems improbable that the Biden administration will undertake meaningful action against the CCP.

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