Illegal drug trade in China
The illegal drug trade in the People's Republic of China is influenced by factors such as history, location, size, population, and current economic conditions.
The PRC's status in drug trafficking has changed significantly since the 1980s, when the country for the first time opened its borders to trade and tourism after 40 years of relative isolation.
China is a major source of precursor chemicals necessary for the production of fentanyl,[1] cocaine, heroin, MDMA and crystal methamphetamine, which are used by many Southeast Asian and Pacific Rim nations.
Drug traffickers take advantage of expanding port facilities in coastal cities, such as Qingdao, Shanghai, Tianjin, and Guangdong, to ship heroin along maritime routes.
Illicit cultivation of the opium poppy in China is negligible in provinces such as Yunnan, Ningxia, Inner Mongolia, and the remote regions of the northwest frontier.
[citation needed] Legal cultivation of the opium poppy occurs on farms controlled by the Ministry of Agriculture and the National Drug Administration Bureau of the State Council.
According to United Nations (UN) International Narcotics Control Board (INCB) data, China produces approximately 14 metric tons (31,000 lb) of legal opium per year for use in the domestic pharmaceutical industry.
[citation needed] Ten million addicts were forced into compulsory treatment, dealers were executed, and opium-producing regions were planted with new crops.
Some laboratory operators in China mix MDMA powder, imported from Europe, with substances, such as caffeine and ketamine, while making the Ecstasy tablets.
These groups reside, and are actively involved in drug trafficking in regions such as Myanmar, Cambodia, Canada, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Thailand, and the United States.
However, Chinese officials report that drug traffickers are dividing their large shipments into smaller ones in order to minimize losses in case of seizure.
Traffickers take advantage of expanding port facilities in northeast cities, such as Qingdao, Shanghai, and Tianjin, to ship heroin via maritime routes.
Increased Chinese interdiction efforts along the Myanmar–China border have forced some traffickers to send heroin from Myanmar to China's southeastern provinces by fishing trawlers.
Several ports in southern China serve as transit points for crystal methamphetamine transported by containerized cargo to international drug markets.
However, with the booming economy promoting greater trade investment and the ever-increasing number of foreign bank branches opening throughout the country, it appears that China may become an emerging money laundering center.
The People's Bank of China also prepared guidelines for use by financial institutions to report suspicious transactions, and to sensitize the public about new regulations on money laundering and terrorist financing issues.
[citation needed] In July 2024, the United States Department of the Treasury sanctioned individuals in China accused of money laundering for the Sinaloa Cartel.
The journal cites social workers saying that four people can get high by sharing just HK$20 worth of ketamine, and estimates 80 per cent of young drug addicts take 'K'.
[citation needed] In 2001, intravenous heroin users accounted for 70.9 percent of the confirmed 22,000 human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) cases.
In the Customs General Administration, the Smuggling Prevention Department plays the major role in intercepting illegal drug shipments.
China also participates in a drug control program with Iran, Pakistan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Russia, and the United States.
This program is designed to enhance information sharing and coordination of drug law enforcement activities by countries in and around the Central Asian Region.
A May 1997 United States and China Memorandum of Understanding on law enforcement cooperation allows the two countries to provide assistance on drug investigations and prosecutions on a case-by-case basis.
[citation needed] China and Myanmar continue dialogue on counter-drug issues, such as drug trafficking by the United Wa State Army along the China–Myanmar border.
China is also building on Memoranda of Understanding that are currently in place with Myanmar, Cambodia, Laos, Thailand, Vietnam, and the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime.
