Brain Spegele of The Wall Street Journal tells his readers that Chinese authorities quietly shut down chemical sellers and say they will regulate other opioid precursors. He writes:
China is taking tentative new steps to help disrupt the global supply chain fueling the opioid crisis after intensifying criticism from the U.S. that its chemical factories are partly responsible for the deadly scourge.
After a long freeze in joint counternarcotics work between the countries, President Biden and Chinese leader Xi Jinping pledged to resume cooperation at a summit in California last November. Since then, Chinese authorities have quietly shut down some sellers of precursor chemicals used by Mexican cartels to make fentanyl and say they are close to imposing new regulations sought by the U.S. on three additional chemicals.
Meanwhile, Chinese police, acting on U.S. intelligence, recently arrested a suspect the U.S. says was involved in money laundering for Mexico’s Sinaloa cartel. […]
These two areas intersect in China’s underground banking system, U.S. officials say, with illegal foreign-exchange operations serving both sets of clients.
Acting on intelligence from the U.S., Chinese authorities recently arrested a 27-year-old man named Tong Peiji. The U.S. said Tong was part of a money-laundering ring that was working for the Sinaloa cartel in Southern California. Tong couldn’t be reached for comment.
Read more here.