Possibility of US Lifting Sanctions for Fentanyl Trafficking Agreement with China
The United States may consider lifting sanctions on a Chinese police forensics institute implicated in human rights abuses if China cooperates in combating fentanyl trafficking. Secretary of State Antony Blinken discussed the possibility of resuming talks on cooperation with China in the fight against fentanyl trafficking. However, China insisted that the US first lift the sanctions on the police institute. The Trump administration had imposed sanctions on the Chinese Ministry of Public Security’s Institute of Forensic Science three years ago, accusing it of mass surveillance and human rights abuses against ethnic Uyghur and other minority groups, which China denies. State Department spokesman Matthew Miller clarified that no US delegation member offered to lift any sanctions. Instead, Blinken proposed a working group on fentanyl to allow both sides to address their concerns, while also urging China to stop the flow of precursor chemicals used to create fentanyl. The Chinese Foreign Ministry did not directly comment on the discussions but called for the withdrawal of sanctions and an end to smearing and scapegoating by the US to resolve its domestic drug problem.
