Fentanyl Crisis In US: Biden Administration Contemplates Easing Sanctions on China's Forensic Institute

The Biden administration is reportedly considering lifting sanctions on a Chinese forensic institute allegedly involved in human rights violations.

The U.S. is striving to find a way to persuade China's cooperation, and the police institute has become a significant obstacle.

This move aims to encourage China's cooperation in the fight against the fentanyl crisis. 

During recent meetings in Beijing, Wall Street Journal reported, Secretary of State Antony Blinken suggested establishing a working group with China to revive stagnated discussions about combating fentanyl. 

Chinese officials, however, continue to demand the removal of sanctions on the police institute before any restart of joint anti-drug initiatives.

The flow of fentanyl into the U.S., which has triggered a wave of deaths, is a priority for the Biden administration, with Chinese companies producing precursor chemicals used by Mexican cartels to manufacture and smuggle fentanyl into the U.S. 

The proposal for a working group was meant to be a step-by-step approach to resolving this stalemate. Within this proposed framework, China was expected to outline plans to collaborate with the U.S. in the fight against drugs, while the U.S. would reconsider its restrictions on the police institute.

However, talks have currently stalled, with no agreement reached yet, according to a person familiar with the situation. 

The Chinese Ministry of Public Security's Institute of Forensic Science had limited access to U.S. technology three years ago due to allegations of its involvement in mass surveillance and widespread human rights abuses against ethnic Uyghurs and other minority groups in China's Xinjiang region. 

China denies these allegations and asserts that the sanctions also impede its ability to access U.S. equipment for counternarcotics work.

The Biden administration has been in internal discussions since the end of last year, aiming to demonstrate advancements in addressing the opioid crisis. 

Even with the mounting pressure on the Biden administration to address the fentanyl issue, it remains unclear whether the U.S. will soon lift the Chinese police institute from the export blacklist, depending on China's future actions and the outcome of ongoing negotiations.