China pleads not guilty in the opioid crisis in the US

Beijing (AFP) –

China on Tuesday rejected any responsibility for addiction to fentanyl in the United States, where this substance 50 times stronger than heroin kills thousands of individuals every year, which earned him attacks by President Donald Trump.

Fentanyl, which caused the death of singer Prince and at least 32,000 Americans in 2018, is one of the elements of trade divergences between China – the world's first exporter of this substance – and the United States.

Last month, Trump accused his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping of not respecting his commitments to end Chinese fentanyl exports to the United States.

Beijing has hardened despite its legislation last spring by inscribing all types of fentanyl in its list of substances subject to regulation.

Since then, "no case of fentanyl smuggling has come to light," Liu Yuejin, deputy director of the National Drug Commission, told the press.

"China has strengthened its control of fentanyl but the number of deaths in the United States related to this substance has continued to increase," he said, without providing figures.

In the United States, getting the substance is not difficult and buyers ask for it online, paying with their credit card and receiving the shipment by mail, as a report by the US Congress revealed.