There is no so-called illicit fentanyl trafficking problem between China and Mexico, and the channels for bilateral drug control cooperation between the two countries are open, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said at a press conference on Thursday, when she was commenting on the news that Mexico asked China for help on fentanyl.
According to Mao, the authorities of both sides maintain good communication and the Chinese side did not receive any notification from the Mexican side about the the seizure of scheduled fentanyl precursors from China.
The Chinese government takes a firm stance on counternarcotics. As early as 2019, China categorized and controlled fentanyl substances, and the controlled varieties far exceeded the scope of the International Drug Control Conventions, making China the first country in the world to categorize and control fentanyl substances, Mao said.
China has been playing a responsible role as a major country in responding to the global drug problem. It is willing to vigorously carry out international drug law enforcement cooperation within the framework of the International Drug Control Conventions, including strengthening bilateral counternarcotics cooperation with other countries including Mexico, and continuing to contribute to global counternarcotics governance, Mao said.
Mao noted that as the country with the most prominent problem of fentanyl abuse in the world, the US has not yet officially scheduled fentanyl-related substances as a class. The problem of fentanyl abuse in the US has become even worse, with the number of deaths constantly rising.
Mao pointed out that the root cause of the fentanyl abuse problem in the US lies within the country itself. The US should face its own problems and take more concrete measures to strengthen domestic regulation and reduce demand, Mao said.
Mao added that China firmly supports Mexico's efforts to uphold independence and oppose foreign interference, and calls on relevant countries to stop hegemonic practices against Mexico.
Mexican president bemoans ‘rude’ US fentanyl pressure in plea to Xi Jinping
Mexico’s president has written to his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping, urging him to help control shipments of fentanyl, while also complaining of “rude” US pressure to curb the drug trade.
President Andrés Manuel López Obrador has previously said that fentanyl is the US’s problem and is caused by “a lack of hugs” in US families. On Tuesday he read out the letter to Xi dated 22 March in which he defended efforts to curb supply of the deadly drug, while rounding on US critics.
López Obrador complained about calls in the US to designate Mexican drug gangs as terrorist organisations. Some Republicans have said they favour using the US military to crack down on Mexican cartels.
“Unjustly, they are blaming us for problems that in large measure have to do with their loss of values, their welfare crisis,” López Obrador wrote to Xi in the letter.
“These positions are in themselves a lack of respect and a threat to our sovereignty, and moreover they are based on an absurd, manipulative, propagandistic and demagogic attitude.”
Only after several paragraphs of venting, López Obrador brings up China’s exports of fentanyl precursors, and asked him to help stop shipments of chemicals that Mexican cartels import from China.
“I write to you, President Xi Jinping, not to ask your help on these rude threats, but to ask you for humanitarian reasons to help us by controlling the shipments of fentanyl,” the Mexican president wrote.
China has taken some steps to limit fentanyl exports, but mislabelled or harder-to-detect precursor chemicals continue to pour out of Chinese factories.
China has taken some steps to limit fentanyl exports, but mislabelled or harder-to-detect precursor chemicals continue to pour out of Chinese factories.
GRAHAM SAYS ‘AMERICA IS UNDER ATTACK’ FROM MEXICAN DRUG CARTELS: ‘WE NEED TO BE AT WAR WITH THEM’
The fentanyl crisis has been at the center of a growing diplomatic dispute between the U.S. and Mexico as lawmakers in the U.S. have been pushing for a more aggressive approach toward the southern neighbor and the cartels within.
Attorney General Merrick Garland has said Mexico could be doing more to help the U.S. tackle the crisis, which he said is being "unleashed on purpose" by the cartels.
Republicans have called for the cartels to be branded Foreign Terrorist Organizations and have even suggested the military be used to take out the cartels’ drug labs.
"We're going to unleash the fury and might of the United States against these cartels," Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C. told reporters last month. "We're going to destroy their business model and their lifestyle because our national security and the security of the United States as a whole depends on us taking decisive action."
Graham's remarks and similar ones from other lawmakers sparked a furious response from Lopez Obrador, who threatened to meddle in U.S. elections with an "information campaign" against Republicans.
He has also lashed out at a State Department report which criticized the government’s human rights records. He accused the U.S. of "lying" and trying to act like "the government of the world."
On Tuesday, much of Lopez Obrador’s letter consisted of thinly-veiled swiping at the U.S. and blaming the northern neighbor for the crisis. He has previously attributed the crisis to a "lack of hugs" in the U.S., rather than the murderous cartels that have continued to flourish under his presidency.
"Unjustly, they are blaming us for problems that in large measure have to do with their loss of values, their welfare crisis," López Obrador wrote. "These positions are in themselves a lack of respect and a threat to our sovereignty, and moreover they are based on an absurd, manipulative, propagandistic and demagogic attitude."
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