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Fentanyl and other opioids

A bag of pink cocaine is seen in January 2023. Photo: Office of the Special Narcotics Prosecutor in New York via AP

What is ‘pink cocaine’, the designer drug tied to Liam Payne’s death?

The substance, which originated in Colombia and is known by the street name ‘tusi’, is a deadly party cocktail of ketamine, meth and Ecstasy.

24 Oct 2024 - 4:33AMvideocam

Mexico president rules out new war on drugs amid shock over mayor’s beheading

9 Oct 2024 - 5:39AM

Harris vows to cut fentanyl flow, urges China to boost crackdown on precursors

28 Sep 2024 - 11:08AMvideocam

Expired US-China science treaty signals deep uncertainty amid high tensions

Landmark deal dating to 1979 is said to shield American researchers working in mainland but critics counter Beijing is exploiting its terms.

30 Aug 2024 - 10:05PMvideocam

Washington’s concerns about how Beijing uses the US-China Science and Technology Agreement have held up its renewal. Photo: Shutterstock

US-China fentanyl cooperation deepens as Beijing tightens drug controls

Washington hails ‘valuable step forward’ following Chinese ministry’s announcement of three substances to be singled out from September 1.

7 Aug 2024 - 1:54AMvideocam

US-China fentanyl cooperation gathers momentum with senior meeting in Washington

Anti-narcotic working group formed after Xi-Biden summit meets to clarify direction and strengthen coordination, readouts said.

2 Aug 2024 - 6:20PMvideocam

China delegation visits US for fentanyl crisis collaboration amid ‘complex’ ties

Talks transpire as Beijing takes concerted action to disrupt the global supply chain of synthetic substances and Washington seeks more steps.

31 Jul 2024 - 5:00PMvideocam

China is a significant supplier of precursor chemicals for narcotics. Photo: Reuters

Son of drug kingpin ‘El Chapo’ pleads not guilty to drug trafficking charges in Chicago

Joaquin Guzman Lopez was arrested in Texas last week along with Ismael ‘El Mayo’ Zambada, a fellow member of Mexico’s Sinaloa cartel.

31 Jul 2024 - 3:15PM

US arrests 2 leaders of Mexico’s Sinaloa drug cartel, including son of ‘El Chapo’

Arrests are another major blow to the Sinaloa cartel, whose founder Joaquin ‘El Chapo’ Guzman is serving a life sentence in a maximum-security prison in the United States.

26 Jul 2024 - 10:40AMvideocam

US researchers identify new method to strengthen fentanyl treatment

The synthetic opioid, accounting for almost 70 per cent of drug overdose deaths in US, has been a flashpoint in relations with China, which Washington links to traffickers.

4 Jul 2024 - 5:06AMvideocam

A user smoking fentanyl. Researchers say they have found a new compound that can make treatments for overdoses vastly stronger. Photo: AP

China and US agree to scientist exchanges in fight against synthetic drugs trade

Minister of Public Security Wang Xiaohong meets US National Drug Control Policy director Rahul Gupta to ‘address shared threat’.

21 Jun 2024 - 7:10PMvideocam

Rahul Gupta, left, head of the White House’s Office of National Drug Control Policy, shakes hands with Chinese Minister of Public Security Wang Xiaohong at a hotel in Beijing. Photo: EPA-EFE

China says US tip led to suspect, ‘prime example’ of cooperation in drug crisis

Man surnamed Tong detained on drugs and money laundering charges; Beijing insists fentanyl crisis is not ‘caused by China’.

19 Jun 2024 - 7:37PMvideocam

Opinion | Mixed messages undermine US-China rebuilding of people exchanges

China needs to reverse the atmosphere of intimidation felt by academics, journalists and businesses while the US must change its gruff approach.

18 Jun 2024 - 9:30AMvideocam

China’s top police chief hails joint narcotics crackdown with New Zealand

Public Security Minister Wang Xiaohong says ‘candid communication’ between security agencies has helped curb narcotics trade.

7 May 2024 - 5:43PM

A US Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) chemist checks confiscated powder containing fentanyl in New York. Photo: AFP/Getty Images/TNS

China is subsidising fentanyl ‘scourge’, says report by US congressional panel

Despite an agreement in November between Joe Biden and Xi Jinping to address the deadly drug, there is little evidence that China is committed to the effort or that it is seeing much result, experts testify.

17 Apr 2024 - 4:21AMvideocam

Fentanyl has been implicated in the deaths of 112,000 Americans annually. Photo: AP

Unravelling China and India’s roles in the US fentanyl crisis

12 Apr 2024 - 8:00PM

China names high-profile law enforcer as assistant public security minister

Hu Binchen, director of International Cooperation Bureau, and Liu Zhongyi, director of Criminal Investigation Bureau, appointed assistant ministers at China’s Ministry of Public Security.

12 Apr 2024 - 5:20PMvideocam

Is China fuelling the US fentanyl crisis?

6 Apr 2024 - 9:00AM

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‘America is rising’: Biden uses State of the Union to push contest with China

Annual presidential address has Biden appearing vibrant and confident about US, including its partnerships and alliances in the Pacific.

9 Mar 2024 - 12:53AMvideocam

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Opinion | Fight against fentanyl too important to be thwarted by China-US tensions

Counternarcotics efforts are an example of the US and China working together despite the persistent geopolitical tensions between them. Safeguarding public health in both countries is too important an aspect of bilateral relations to be treated in an ad hoc manner.

14 Feb 2024 - 5:20PMvideocam

Opinion | What the Marcos-Duterte feud means for the Philippines, US and China

The gloves-off feuding between the two powerful political dynasties threatens to destabilise the Philippines, change the US-China geopolitical chessboard in the South China Sea and upend regional politics.

3 Feb 2024 - 9:30AMvideocam

Xi, Biden to speak ‘relatively soon’ as Taiwan, Ukraine, Middle East issues loom

After meeting with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan confirms two leaders will speak ‘on the phone sooner than later’.

2 Feb 2024 - 1:17PMvideocam

Beijing has not confirmed a potential call between Xi Jinping and Joe Biden, but Xinhua reported that aides agreed that the two leaders “will maintain regular contact” to provide strategic guidance to bilateral relations. Photo: AFP

China and US vow closer cooperation in fighting America’s fentanyl crisis

Washington said new working group’s first meeting in Beijing was a ‘good start’ but says ‘there’s a lot more work to be done’ in fighting illicit opioid trade.

31 Jan 2024 - 10:17PMvideocam

US officials heading to China for high-level talks on opioid crisis

White House Deputy Homeland Security Adviser Jen Daskal to lead delegation with officials from key departments to tackle an opioid epidemic that kills thousands in the US annually.

28 Jan 2024 - 11:30PM

US lawmakers criticise lifting of sanctions to gain China’s help on fentanyl

As part of a Biden-Xi summit deal, the US lifted curbs on a Chinese agency deemed complicit in human rights violations in an effort to stem the flow of opioids.

19 Jan 2024 - 4:54AMvideocam

US Senator John Kennedy, Republican of Louisiana, holds up a bag representing 400g of fentanyl as he speaks during a hearing on January 11 in Washington. Photo: Getty Images via AFP

Wang Yi warns against confrontation as US and China mark 45 years of ties

Speaking at event to mark anniversary of US-China relations, Chinese foreign minister says ‘artificial decoupling and containment’ will ‘backfire’, while noting progress in military communications and anti-narcotics cooperation.

6 Jan 2024 - 6:00PMvideocam

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi gives a toast at a reception commemorating the 45th anniversary of China-US diplomatic ties in Beijing on Friday. Photo: EPA-EFE

Opinion | To slay Hydra-like fentanyl scourge, US needs more than China’s help

The US needs to redouble global cooperation to curb supply and enforce a much stricter drug policy at home to curb demand. China’s support is only a first step.

6 Jan 2024 - 9:30AMvideocam

Malaysia’s first ever fentanyl seizure found in Dubai-bound shipment from India

More than 800kg of fentanyl was seized in a consignment that originated in India and was in transit to the United Arab Emirates, officials said.

18 Dec 2023 - 2:12PMvideocam

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Fentanyl and other opioids

Fentanyl, also spelled fentanil, is an opioid that is intended to be used as a pain reliever and anaesthetic, but which has become popular as a recreational drug, leading to mass addictions in the US and elsewhere. Production of fentanyl has taken place in China and other countries, but has come under scrutiny by several national governments, including Beijing, which on April 1, 2019, announced a ban on production of all variants of fentanyl.

last updated:

9 September, 2024