Dr. Vanda Felbab-Brown, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institute, has highlighted China's direct involvement in fentanyl production in Mexico. During the hearing "Strengthening International Cooperation to Stop the Flow of Fentanyl into the United States" on March 15, she elaborated on China’s role in this crisis.
"Until 2019, China was the principal source of finished fentanyl for the U.S. illegal market," said Vanda Felbab-Brown. "Since China scheduled the entire class of fentanyl-type drugs in May 2019, it is the principal source of precursor chemicals for fentanyl. And since many precursors are dual use, they have not been placed on control schedules. Chinese brokers knowingly sell these chemicals to Mexican criminal groups for the production of fentanyl."
In her address to the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs, Felbab-Brown underscored China's significant role in supplying Mexico with fentanyl precursors. "From the precursors," she said, "the Sinaloa Cartel and Cartel Jalisco Nueva Generación (CJNG) synthesize fentanyl in Mexico and then smuggle it to the United States." Owing to this, Felbab-Brown emphasized that along with Mexico, China is a "key actor whose collaboration is necessary for controlling supply."
Felbab-Brown further testified that while China’s primary focus is its relationship with the U.S., it seldom prioritizes counternarcotics efforts over its strategic analysis. She stated that China employs anti-drug cooperation as a negotiation tool to achieve other objectives. "Beijing rarely acts against the top echelons of large and powerful Chinese criminal syndicates that provide the Chinese government with various services unless they specifically contradict a narrow set of interests of the Chinese government," she added.
According to Felbab-Brown, while China has taken several positive steps towards cooperation with the U.S., it has also refused to deliver on certain elements. For instance, China insists that it cannot prosecute substances not listed on schedules and shows reluctance in enforcing Know Your Customer (KYC) laws. Both these stances continue to enable Mexican cartels to accumulate fentanyl precursors.
The Brookings Institute website reveals that Vanda Felbab-Brown serves as a senior fellow at the Strobe Talbott Center for Security, Strategy, and Technology within their Foreign Policy program. She also leads the Initiative on Nonstate Armed Actors and holds a doctorate in political science from MIT.
