U.S. returns Chinese drug fugitive in rare extradition, Beijing says
The United States recently repatriated a Chinese national suspected of drug trafficking, a “first” return of this type in recent years, the Ministry of Public Security in Beijing announced on Friday.
China is the main source of chemical precursors used to make fentanyl, a very potent opioid that causes drug epidemic in the United States.
Beijing says it is willing to work with Washington to stem the crisis, although the United States maintains an additional 10% customs duty on Chinese products, intended to limit the trade in fentanyl.
“This is the first drug-related fugitive repatriated by the United States to China in recent years, marking another achievement in Sino-US anti-drug law enforcement cooperation,” Beijing’s Ministry of Public Security said in a statement posted on social media.
US immigration authorities followed “clues” shared by China’s Narcotics Control Commission to repatriate a Chinese national surnamed Han, the ministry said.
Han is suspected of “smuggling and drug trafficking,” the ministry said without further details, specifying only that the handover took place “a few days ago.”
The ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment from AFP.
This joint action comes ahead of President Trump’s planned visit to China in May.
Mr. Trump has used tariffs to pressure China to crack down on sellers of precursor chemicals used to make fentanyl, but he agreed to lower fentanyl tariffs after meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping in October. In return, China pledged to work with the United States to crack down on drug networks.
In March, state media reported that China had arrested seven people in an operation targeting traffickers of fentanyl precursors, according to the Reuters news agency.
In November, Chinese authorities, acting on intelligence from the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, seized 430 kilograms of cocaine in an international shipping container, Beijing’s Ministry of Public Security announced.
