Chinese court sentences men in case solved through China-US counternarcotics cooperation

BEIJING -- A Chinese court has sentenced two men who had trafficked precursor chemicals abroad, in the latest outcome of strengthened counternarcotics cooperation between China and the United States.

A court in Wuhan, Central China's Hubei province, sentenced a man surnamed Xia to six years in prison and his son five and a half years for illegal operations last Friday. The two were found to have organized others to illegally sell 123 batches of controlled stimulant substances, with a total sales amount of over 1.69 million yuan.

In 2023, the US Drug Enforcement Administration notified China's Ministry of Public Security (MPS) of a sensitive chemical trafficking case. Chinese police authorities dispatched a special task force to investigate the case before bringing the culprits to justice.

Chinese police authorities urged chemical traders and exporters to comply with relevant laws and regulations at home and abroad and guard against legal risks, citing alerts issued by the office of the China National Narcotics Control Commission since 2019.

The case highlighted closer law enforcement cooperation between China and the United States.

Since the beginning of this year, law enforcement agencies of China and the United States have engaged in practical cooperation in areas including counternarcotics, combating telecom and online fraud, and fugitive repatriation, achieving tangible results.

In counternarcotics, the two sides have jointly cracked cases involving drug smuggling and trafficking and the transnational trafficking of new psychoactive substances.

In a joint operation targeting telecom and online fraud with the United Arab Emirates, Chinese and US police dismantled nine fraud dens and captured 276 suspects.

The two sides have also cooperated on fugitive repatriation, with the US side handing over two suspects to China, while Chinese police repatriated a US fugitive wanted for serious violent crimes.

In July, China's State Councilor and Minister of Public Security Wang Xiaohong met with US FBI Director Kash Patel in Beijing, and the two sides agreed to further deepen law enforcement exchanges and cooperation.

Anti-narcotics has long been a focus of China-US cooperation.

Wei Xiaojun, head of the MPS's narcotics control bureau, said the two sides have engaged in extensive institutional exchanges and practical cooperation, including regular information sharing, joint investigations and the repatriation of drug-related fugitives.

A China-US counternarcotics intelligence exchange mechanism, launched in 2002, held its 11th meeting in February this year, focusing on drug trends, joint cases, chemical controls, and other areas of cooperation.

China has also tightened controls on non-scheduled precursor chemicals. In November 2025, China added 13 types of precursors of fentanyl-related substances to the export control list, and added the United States, Mexico and Canada to the Catalogue of Specific Countries (Regions), Wei said. In May 2026, three types of precursors of fentanyl-related substances were added to the list regarding the three aforementioned countries.

Zhang Li, deputy director of the Center for Drug Control Theory and Policy Research under People's Public Security University of China, said the growing counternarcotics cooperation demonstrated China's commitment to helping the United States address the fentanyl crisis.

Going forward, the MPS has said that Chinese police will deepen practical cooperation with law enforcement agencies in the US and other countries, strengthen mechanisms for sharing leads and jointly investigating cases, and crack down on all types of transnational crimes in accordance with the law.