Nicholas Dockery, a Special Forces officer and expert in military policy, has asserted that China "actively supports and facilitates the flow of fentanyl into the U.S." This statement was made in a report from the Modern War Institute titled "China and the Fentanyl Supply Chain," published in January.
"Publicly and officially, the PRC has made significant gestures of cooperation with the United States in meeting the opioid crisis challenge," said Dockery, Modern War Institute, Special Forces Officer, Expert in Military and Cyber Policy. "Unofficially and illicitly, considerable evidence suggests the PRC actively supports and facilitates the flow of fentanyl into the United States. PRC officials continue to claim a narrative of fentanyl addiction as a US problem."
According to Dockery's report, Chinese companies, potentially with the complicity or negligence of the People's Republic of China (PRC) government, are contributing to the fentanyl crisis through illegal exports of precursors and chemicals. While there is no evidence of a deliberate campaign by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) to use fentanyl as a tool of "asymmetric warfare," he said that PRC's public comments contradict evidence showing their involvement in supporting the flow of fentanyl into the U.S.
Research from George Mason University's Terrorism, Transnational Crime, and Corruption Center indicates that 40% of websites advertising illegal fentanyl are linked to officially registered Chinese businesses. These include firms like Yuancheng Group, which operates in 43 countries. Companies such as Shanghai Ruizheng Chemical Technology, backed by government export incentives, openly market fentanyl products. These businesses are connected to broader criminal networks supplying precursors to cartels such as the Sinaloa and Jalisco New Generation Cartels.
Dockery said, "It is unclear if the PRC’s collaborative deficiency is willful blindness in the service of asymmetric warfare, but these criminal groups have significant links to the CCP."
Chinese companies like Shanghai Ruizheng Chemical Technology and Gaosheng Biotechnology openly market fentanyl precursors and receive government incentives despite their known ties to illicit activities. Investigations link these firms to global trafficking networks supplying fentanyl ingredients to Mexican cartels, including the Sinaloa Cartel. The CCP’s involvement with private companies and delays in international cooperation have hindered U.S. law enforcement efforts to combat fentanyl production.
Dockery is a native of Indianapolis, Indiana. He is a decorated Green Beret and combat veteran awarded two Silver Stars, two Purple Hearts, and was named Soldier of the Year in 2022 according to the Modern War Institute.
