U.S. and China hold high-level talks on the fentanyl crisis

American and Chinese officials had “frank and honest discussions” about stemming the flow of fentanyl the head of the White House delegation told NBC News.

BEIJING — American and Chinese officials had “frank and honest discussions” about stemming the flow of fentanyl into the U.S., but Beijing could do much more to help stem what has been called the worst drug crisis in U.S. history, the head of the White House delegation at the high-level talks told NBC News on Tuesday. 

Jen Daskal, a deputy homeland security adviser, said in an exclusive interview that Day One of two days of meetings with a new counternarcotics working group in Beijing had been “an important step forward in our relationship.” They were the first formal high-level talks the two global powers had held on the issue in years as their relations deteriorated amid disputes over a range of issues including trade, technology, human rights and the status of Taiwan.

“What we hope that today will do will be to launch continued cooperation so that we can share information and see more progress,” Daskal said.

Speaking before the group’s inauguration on Tuesday, Chinese Minister of Public Security Wang Xiaohong said the two delegations had “reached common understanding on the work plan” and that he hoped the two sides could “enhance and expand cooperation to provide more positive energy for stable, sound and sustainable China-U.S. relations.”

Fentanyl, an extremely lethal synthetic opioid, is at the center of a drug crisis that has devastated communities across the U.S. Of the more than 70,000 overdose deaths involving synthetic opioids in 2021, the vast majority were fentanyl-related, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/us-china-fentanyl-crisis-talks-rcna136345

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