House Report Finds China Complicit in U.S. Fentanyl Epidemic

According to a report by the House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party, the Chinese government is complicit in the U.S. fetanayl epidemic. The report was released on Tuesday, in advance of a public hearing on the matter.

Key Details: The bipartisan investigation uncovered new details about China's role in the illicit fentanyl trade as U.S. overdoses continue to surge. It found that the People's Republic of China (PRC) has ownership interests in several Chinese companies that are tied to illegal drug trafficking and that the PRC subsidizes the manufacturing and export of fentanyl materials, as long as they are sold outside of China. The report recommends, among other things, the establishment of a joint task force to curb the flow of fentanyl materials from China.

Key Quote: “Many of these substances are illegal under the PRC’s own laws and have no known legal use worldwide,” the report says. “Like its export tax rebates for legitimate goods, the CCP’s subsidizing of illegal drugs incentivizes international synthetic drug sales from the PRC. The CCP has never disclosed this program.” China's embassy in the U.S. said, "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."

For Context: In November, President Joe Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping agreed to curb the flow of chemical precursors to fentanyl.

How the Media Covered it: Axios (Lean Left bias) noted that the report found no evidence of criminal enforcement actions, despite the discussions with President Xi. The Washington Times (Lean Right bias) noted that the PRC has denied any role in contributing to the U.S. fentanyl crisis.