Report Claims China Is Funding the American Fentanyl Crisis

(RepublicanNews.org) – A House report published on Tuesday, April 16th, accuses the Chinese Communist Party of subsidizing the manufacture and export of materials used in the creation of fentanyl destined for American streets. The House Select Committee on China issued its findings that the Chinese government plays a vital role in the international movement of fentanyl, the deadly and addictive drug that killed over 112,000 people in the U.S. in 2023, a record high.

According to the report, China utilizes “subsidies, grants, and incentives” to make the creation and export of fentanyl-related materials more lucrative for narcotics traffickers, ultimately harming the U.S. The committee quoted information sourced from a Chinese governmental website that shows available tax rebates for the manufacture of specific products used in the creation of fentanyl and other illicit drugs, but only if those companies sell the drugs outside of China. The report added that some of the drugs effectively subsidized by Beijing have “no legal use” anywhere in the world.

The tax rebates of up to 13%, along with the other financial incentives, are directly fueling the American opioid crisis, according to the House committee, a claim that Beijing denies. A spokesperson for the Chinese Communist Party government rebuffed the claims, saying that China has no such fentanyl problem and that the U.S. must solve its own problems, rather than blaming China.

The report suggested certain measures be taken to curb China’s alleged ability to flood American streets with damaging narcotics. One such measure would be to create a task force to identify weaknesses in the global fentanyl supply chain and attack those weaknesses. It also recommends increasing sanctions and boosting customs checks, as well as tightening related regulations and better enforcing them.

The U.S. and China have already met this year to discuss the possibility of resuming cooperative work against the narcotic trade after Beijing suspended such cooperation in 2022 when Nancy Pelosi, House Speaker at the time, visited Taiwan. China refutes Taiwan’s independence, believing it to belong to China, and the trip is reported to have angered Chinese authorities.