Vanda Felbab-Brown, host of The Killing Drugs podcast, said that China remains the primary source of fentanyl precursors for Mexican cartels. She shared her statement during an October 1 podcast episode.
"And when that happened, Chinese traffickers, Chinese trafficking networks, switched to supplying not that finished product, not finished fentanyl, but instead what is known as precursor chemicals, which are the more elemental chemicals from which fentanyl is manufactured," said Felbab-Brown. "So, today, China is still the principal supplier of these precursors for fentanyl. China is also the global principal supplier of precursors for another synthetic drug, methamphetamine. And those precursors go, in the case of fentanyl, to Mexican cartels, in the case of meth, to Mexican cartels and also criminal groups in Asia."
According to the Washington Post, China claims it has cracked down on fentanyl exports. During Chinese President Xi Jinping’s visit to San Francisco in November 2023, his top aides said Beijing had taken action against 25 companies involved in providing chemicals used in the illegal fentanyl trade, according to a White House official. Policy experts remain skeptical about whether this pledge will make a "lasting dent in the global supply chain for illicit drugs."
In April, the Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) released a report titled "The CCP's Role in the Fentanyl Crisis," which disclosed findings from investigations into the manufacturing and export of fentanyl precursors. The Select Committee found that the CCP "directly subsidizes the manufacturing and export of illicit fentanyl materials and other synthetic narcotics through tax rebates," as said in the report. These tax rebates occur despite many of these precursors being illegal under Chinese law. The CCP has never disclosed this rebate program. Additionally, the investigation found that the CCP "gave monetary grants and awards to companies openly trafficking illicit fentanyl materials and other synthetic narcotics."
In 2023, approximately 81,083 Americans died from overdoses involving opioids or synthetic opioids, primarily fentanyl, according to the National Center for Health Statistics.
Felbab-Brown is a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution and serves as director of its initiative on Nonstate Armed Actors and co-director of the Africa Security Initiative.
