VII. Promoting Global Governance of Fentanyl-Related Substances

Currently, the abuse of fentanyl-related substances is escalating globally. According to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) Early Warning Advisory, since 2013, 86 fentanyl analogues have been reported by 46 countries worldwide, accounting for 64 percent of the number of synthetic opioids reported². The World Drug Reports released by UNODC show that the number of fentanyl-related overdose deaths continues to increase in North America, and the trafficking of fentanyl-related substances has been occurring in Europe and other regions³. According to data from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the number of overdose deaths involving synthetic opioids, primarily fentanyl-related substances, reached 75,000 in 2023, accounting for almost 70 percent of all drug overdose deaths, making fentanyl-related overdose the leading cause of death for adults aged 18 to 45 in the US⁴. In 2022, EU countries reported seizures of 2.7 kilograms of fentanyl, 168 liters of liquid fentanyl, 8,435 fentanyl tablets, and 6.5 kilograms of carfentanil, with at least 163 deaths associated with the abuse of fentanyl-related substances⁵. 

Committed to the vision of a global community of shared future, China rigorously meets its international drug control obligations, and adheres to the principle of shared responsibilities among all countries and a comprehensive and balanced approach to drug control. It advocates mutual assistance, joint contribution, and shared benefit among all countries, and opposes finger-pointing and buck-passing. China honors its own drug control responsibilities, firmly upholds the existing international drug control system, participates fully in making important decisions on international drug control, and contributes Chinese wisdom and solutions to the global governance of drugs.

– Advancing bilateral and multilateral exchanges. China plays a positive role in jointly addressing new challenges in global drug governance, such as the fentanyl issue, through proactive cooperation with other countries and international organizations. It has signed 50 intergovernmental and interdepartmental documents on drug control cooperation with more than 30 countries and unions of countries, established annual meeting mechanisms with 13 countries, and joined multilateral drug control cooperation mechanisms within the Greater Mekong Subregion, the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, and BRICS. Through these efforts, China has consistently expanded all-round trust and cooperation with other countries in the field of drug control. 

China has participated in a number of global endeavors for drug governance, including the UNODC's Global Synthetics Monitoring: Analyses, Reporting and Trends (SMART) Programme, and the INCB's two initiatives – Project ION (International Operations on New Psychoactive Substances) and the global Operational Partnerships to Interdict Opioid's Illicit Distribution and Sales (OPIOIDS) Project. Through such endeavors, China has strengthened international exchanges on the types and trends of abuse of fentanyl-related substances and other synthetic drugs, dedicating itself to the collaborative efforts to address hotspot issues and pain points in international drug control. 

– Promoting China-US cooperation on drug control. Drug law enforcement is a central focus of cooperation between China and the US. China upholds a clear and principled position on this matter: It is committed to cooperation based on equality and mutual respect, but firmly opposes the US imposition of unlawful sanctions and unreasonable pressure on China on the pretext of responding to fentanyl-related issues. The drug law enforcement agencies of both sides have jointly cracked major cases of smuggling, manufacturing, and trafficking, including the Wang *xi case and the Chen *ping case⁶, and arrested relevant suspects in their respective territories and sentenced them in accordance with the law. These are all successful examples of cooperation between law enforcement agencies of the two countries. 

On January 30, 2024, the China-US Counternarcotics Working Group held its first meeting in Beijing to identify priorities for counternarcotics cooperation. The two countries have since convened multiple high-level meetings to promote bilateral dialogue and cooperation in drug control and law enforcement. On July 31, 2024, an interdepartmental Chinese delegation visited the US to attend the first senior official meeting of the China-US Counternarcotics Working Group, building mutual trust in cooperation. The Narcotics Control Bureau of China's Ministry of Public Security maintains daily hotline communication and holds regular exchange meetings with the US Department of Justice's Drug Enforcement Administration, the US Department of Homeland Security's Homeland Security Investigations, and other drug control agencies. Since 2024, with more than 100 instances of information exchange, the two sides have achieved breakthrough progress in the collaborative investigations of multiple transnational cases, including those concerning Du *gen, Tong *ji, and Huang *cheng. 

– Strengthening precursor control. In compliance with international rules, China uses the INCB PEN Online system to strengthen international verification on key scheduled precursor chemicals, including precursors used to make fentanyl-related substances. It uses the INCB PEN Online Light system to strengthen verification and exchange information on non-scheduled precursor chemicals. To mitigate any risk of diversion, China actively participates in the INCB's global precursor control initiatives, and conducts proactive international verification on certain precursor chemicals that are under its national control, but have not been scheduled internationally. 

China advances the implementation of bilateral exchange and cooperation mechanisms on precursor chemicals with the European Union, Australia, and New Zealand, among others. In 2023, the China-Mexico Working Group on Precursor Chemicals was established to strengthen policy exchanges, share information, and carry out transnational law enforcement. This helps to curb the diversion of precursor chemicals while protecting lawful trade. On September 6, 2024, the working group convened its second meeting in Mexico City, and adopted its Rules of Operation and the meeting minutes, laying a solid foundation for China-Mexico cooperation in law enforcement, and exchange and cooperation concerning precursor chemicals and other substances. 

– Conducting technological exchanges. To address the risks and challenges to global drug governance brought by fentanyl-related substances, China has carried out technological exchanges with the drug control agencies of various countries in order to share experience and practices in the testing and identification, monitoring of abuse, and assessment of hazards relating to fentanyl-related substances. It has held technical seminars on wastewater monitoring for fentanyl-related substances and other drugs, in exchanges with technical experts from UNODC, the European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction (European Union Drugs Agency), Australia, New Zealand, and ASEAN countries. China has organized technical meetings and established a scientist exchange mechanism with the US, enabling the sharing of drug detection techniques and experience with drug control experts from the US Office of National Drug Control Policy, Drug Enforcement Administration, and Customs and Border Protection, among others. Since 2024, multiple exchanges have been conducted to promote technical cooperation and strengthen technical support in addressing the fentanyl issue. 

² UNODC Early Warning Advisory, https://www.unodc.org/LSS/Page/NPS/DataVisualisations.

³ UNODC, World Drug Reports 2021-2024, https://www.unodc.org/unodc/en/data-and-analysis/Previous-reports.html. 

⁴ US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/nvss/vsrr/drug-overdose-data.htm.

⁵ European Union Drugs Agency, European Drug Report 2024, https://www.euda.europa.eu/publications/european-drug-report/2024_en.

⁶ The Wang *xi case and the Chen *ping case did not involve fentanyl-related drugs.