“Socalj” for Borderland Beat
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On November 10, 2025, Beijing will require a permit to export 13 specific chemicals to Mexico, the United States, and Canada, including those used to manufacture the synthetic opioid fentanyl.
China’s National Narcotics Commission issued a notice on Monday directing Chinese companies to adhere to the country’s laws, including the newly tightened controls. The notice urged Chinese firms to verify overseas buyers and immediately stop transactions if buyers requested falsified packaging or information.
“Before Monday’s announcement, the catalog consisted of controls on fentanyl flows to Myanmar, Laos and Afghanistan – all major centers of traditional illicit drug production and trafficking – with 41 chemicals on China’s regulatory list,” the South China Morning Post explained.
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“This development occurred weeks after the summit between Chinese President Xi Jinping and his US counterpart, Donald Trump. Following the meeting, both celebrated the ‘consensus’ reached on fentanyl, the leading cause of overdose deaths in the United States. Xi would work ‘very hard to stop the flow’ of fentanyl, Trump told reporters on a flight home after the summit,” the SCMP noted.
“According to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the synthetic opioid claimed approximately 48,422 lives in 2024, compared to 76,282 in 2023. Last week, in a move long sought by Beijing and sealed after months of tense negotiations, Trump formally halved US tariffs from 20% to 10% on Chinese products linked to the fentanyl crisis,” the Chinese newspaper highlighted.
“According to Reuters, Patel arrived in Beijing on November 7 and stayed there for about a day. However, the Chinese Foreign Ministry declined to provide further details. ‘I have no information on the matter,’ ministry spokesman Lin Jian said on Monday,” the SMCP quoted.
“The fentanyl issue has long strained relations between the United States and China. During his first presidential term, Trump sanctioned China over fentanyl. In response, China imposed strict controls on the production and export of the drug, subjecting all fentanyl-related substances to a regulatory regime,” the Chinese newspaper said.
“In his second term, Trump first imposed a 10 percent tariff on all imports from China in February and later doubled the rate as punishment for what Washington considered Beijing’s inaction regarding exports of chemical precursors. In their defense, Chinese officials stated that extensive measures had already been taken to regulate chemical precursors, accusing Washington of using the issue as ‘blackmail,’ he concluded.