A spokesperson for the Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) stated there is publicly available evidence confirming that the People's Republic of China (PRC) subsidizes the export of fentanyl. The spokesperson shared this statement with Federal Newswire on August 5 in response to a new White House fact sheet on fentanyl.
"The evidence that the PRC is actively subsidizing the export of fentanyl and fentanyl precursors is publicly available on official PRC government websites, and demonstrates that the subsidies remain active PRC policy," said the majority spokesperson. "The Select Committee has briefed the NSC and dozens of other admin officials on the evidence on a bipartisan basis, and officials from multiple executive branch agencies have confirmed that they have no information to contradict the evidence produced. We owe the victims of the fentanyl crisis the truth about its origin and policy solutions that tackle the root of the problem."
The White House released a fact sheet on July 31 announcing "new actions" from the Biden-Harris administration aimed at countering "the scourge of fentanyl and other synthetic opioids." According to the fact sheet, President Joe Biden issued a National Security Memorandum directing relevant federal agencies and departments to collect more information and engage in more collaboration to "disrupt the production and distribution of illicit fentanyl." President Biden is also urging Congress to enact legislation that would "increase penalties on those who bring deadly drugs into our communities and to close loopholes that drug traffickers exploit."
Regarding China, the fact sheet said that last year, President Biden "negotiated the resumption of counternarcotics cooperation with the People’s Republic of China (PRC), spurring increased cooperation on law enforcement actions and ongoing efforts to shut down companies that fuel illicit fentanyl and synthetic drug trafficking and cause deaths in the United States."
In April, according to a report by the Select Committee on the CCP titled "The CCP's Role in the Fentanyl Crisis," investigations disclosed results into the manufacturing and export of fentanyl precursors. Through its investigations, the Select Committee found that the CCP "directly subsidizes the manufacturing and export of illicit fentanyl materials and other synthetic narcotics through tax rebates," according to their report. These tax rebates occur despite many of these fentanyl precursors being illegal under Chinese law. The CCP has never disclosed this rebate program. Additionally, according to their investigation, it was found that the CCP "gave monetary grants and awards to companies openly trafficking illicit fentanyl materials and other synthetic narcotics."
The report further indicated that the CCP holds ownership interest in multiple Chinese companies linked to drug trafficking. One example cited is a publicly traded Chinese company hosting "thousands of solicitations of open drug trafficking on its sites." The CCP has neglected prosecuting fentanyl manufacturers and has not cooperated with U.S. law enforcement investigations, even notifying targets when they become subjects of U.S. investigations.
According to Congress.gov, the Select Committee was established in January 2023. Its purpose is to investigate and submit policy recommendations related to economic, security, and technological advances by the CCP in competition with the U.S.
