China said today the US should do more to stem its own demand for synthetic drugs but pledged despite tensions to boost cooperation to stop the flow of opioids made in the Asian country.
China is believed to be one of the main manufacturers of synthetic drugs - including opioids such as fentanyl - which have been blamed for public health crises around the world.
Ahead of his first state visit to Beijing last year, President Donald Trump declared the US opioid crisis a national public health emergency and called for a halt to "the flood of cheap and deadly fentanyl" that was "manufactured in China".
China will seek greater cooperation with the US to stem the flow of fentanyl, and such efforts will not be contingent on "any political or economic issues," Liu Yuejin, vice director of the China National Narcotics Control Commission, told a press briefing.
"But... what's more important is for the US to do its best to reduce the huge demand and market" for the drug, he said.
"To resolve this issue you have to look outward, but more importantly, you have to look inward. If there are fewer US fentanyl users, then this (Chinese) fentanyl won't have a market."
In a statement ahead of tomorrow's International Day Against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking, President Xi Jinping said China must "severely crack down on illegal drug crimes ... and resolutely destroy the network of drug trafficking gangs... to eradicate the spread of the drug problem."
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