China supplies fentanyl to the United States

©Drug Enforcement Administration/AFP

The chemical components capable of manufacturing fentanyl are easily accessible on Chinese online sales sites. Although banned in the Middle East, purchases are made wholesale from the United States. This is reminiscent of a situation that was reversed nearly two hundred years ago. A parallel that the media have not failed to highlight, claiming that this would even be a revenge by China since its “century of humiliation”.

The elements used to manufacture fentanyl are called 4-aminopyridine, norfentanyl  and piperidine-1-carboxylate. According to an investigation by the Journal du Dimanche (JDD), this drug nicknamed “China White” is thirty times more powerful than heroin, while being a hundred times cheaper, which is causing havoc.

Over twenty-five years, no fewer than 700,000 people have died in the United States due to an overdose of this drug. It has even become the leading cause of death among its residents aged between 18 and 49.

This is reminiscent of the Opium Wars, which raged between 1839 and 1856, pitting China against the United Kingdom. The latter was able to ally itself with France and the United States, allowing the Qing dynasty to bend and thus obtain the territory of Hong Kong in addition to imposing payment in opium. Today, fentanyl is pouring into the streets of New York, where a dose can be found for less than five dollars. According to Le Point, heroin was still the deadliest drug in 2012 with 6,155 deaths, before being dethroned by fentanyl, much more deadly, having to its charge 18,335 deaths in 2016. Combined with many other drugs, the effects are only more deleterious because the consumption is not always made known to the person taking it.

Chinese triads are thus said to be at the origin of this new trade. Passing through Mexico in order to divert the pressure of the American government, the drug circulates easily in the country. Without the safety net of regulations between the two countries, between 2019 and 2021, 200 Americans are killed every day. The British firm Elliptic, a blockchain and cryptocurrency analyst, has uncovered in an investigation the existence of more than 90 Chinese chemical companies. These companies are said to be freely selling the components of fentanyl or even the finished composition. The use of bitcoin allows companies to make themselves almost untraceable, despite the ban on such a currency on Chinese territory.

As a reminder, the country is responsible for about half of the world's chemical production. Although the country is willing to punish the sale and use of drugs on its territory, the fact that they escape so easily raises questions for many. Millions of people are said to be employed in the country for this trade. Enough to keep a whole section of its economy running.

Although Beijing denies any responsibility it may have in this regard, the supply chain of some Chinese narcotic drug manufacturers are, according to Le Point, beneficiaries of some largesse. Tempers could then dangerously flare, with international economic news not helping. 

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