The number of drug-related cases in China declined from 140,000 in 2017 to 54,000 in 2021, down an annual average of over 20 percent for five consecutive years.

By the end of 2021, China had approximately 1.48 million drug users, down 42.1 percent from the end of 2016, according to a press conference by the Ministry of Public Security (MPS) on Thursday, in the run-up to International Day Against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking on June 26.

Over the past five years, 451,000 drug-related criminal cases have been concluded, with 588,000 criminal suspects apprehended and 305 tonnes of narcotics seized, said Liang Yun, head of the MPS' narcotics control bureau.

Between January and May this year, more than 14,000 drug-related criminal cases were handled and 7.8 tonnes of narcotics were seized, indicating ever-growing anti-drug momentum, Liang said.

China's narcotics control authorities have expanded their substance scheduling list and conducted a targeted crackdown on new-type drugs such as fentanyl-related substances. So far, China has placed 449 types of narcotic substances under control, making it one of the countries with the most stringent narcotics control measures.