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Earlier this week the U.S.-China Economic and Security Commission issued an updated report on "Fentanyl Flows from China", an increasingly contentious issue in U.S.-China relations.
The big picture: "China remains the largest source of illicit fentanyl and fentanyl-like substances in the United States... In large part, these flows persist due to weak regulations governing pharmaceutical and chemical production in China."
Between the lines:
- "Chinese officials have shown a willingness to work with their U.S. counterparts, controlling 39 new substances since February 2017 and assisting with U.S. law enforcement investigations into alleged Chinese drug traffickers."
- "Beijing’s scheduling procedures remain slow and ineffective... U.S. officials have proposed strategies for Beijing to systematically control all fentanyl substances, but the changes have not been approved by the Chinese government."
- "U.S. law enforcement agencies are taking legal actions against known Chinese drug traffickers."
Go deeper: Fentanyl is hugely profitable for criminals, and some of the profits have flowed into the Vancouver real estate, according to a secret police study obtained by Canada's Global News: