BEIJING, Aug. 18 (Xinhua) -- A Chinese court has sentenced two men to prison terms after convicting them of organizing the illegal sale of controlled stimulants, in another case of counternarcotics cooperation between China and the United States.
The pair -- a father and his son -- received sentences of six years and five and a half years in jail, respectively, and were also fined.
The case caught the attention of authorities after the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration reported in June 2023 to China's Ministry of Public Security a related case of trafficking sensitive chemicals.
The latest verdicts underscore China's zero-tolerance stance on drugs as the country earnestly fulfills its international drug-control obligations, strengthens international cooperation, and advances the global governance of drug control.
China maintains some of the world's strictest drug-control policies and has one of the strongest counternarcotics records globally. The country has made steady progress in the battle against drugs by maintaining a tough crackdown on drug-related crimes, and deepening systemic governance of drugs. In 2025, the numbers of caught drug users and drug-related criminal suspects in China both fell by more than 30 percent year on year.
As international drug abuse and crime continue to rise, and with most drugs seized in China originating from overseas, China has strengthened international drug-control cooperation through practical dialogues and exchanges. The country has promoted mutually beneficial cooperation based on equality and mutual trust. For example, China has achieved notable results in in-depth cooperation with countries concerned, including the United States, in addressing problems with fentanyl-related substances and their precursors. In January this year, authorities in Myanmar busted a major drug-making case based on leads provided by China.
China has taken strong measures to help the United States address its fentanyl issue. However, the U.S. side once took the wrong path of scapegoating other countries, including China, and abused sanctions and tariffs on them, over the fentanyl issue -- in essence a result of its poor domestic regulation. Such unreasonable and coercive actions severely impacted drug control cooperation between China and the United States.
There has been a sound momentum in effective anti-drug cooperation between the two countries since their leaders met in October 2025 and the U.S. side eased its so-called "fentanyl tariffs" on Chinese goods. The hard-won progress in practical anti-drug cooperation requires both sides to continue working toward the same goal on the basis of equality and mutual respect, so as to benefit the people of both countries and the rest of the world.
As part of its efforts to promote global drug governance, China has signed intergovernmental and interdepartmental documents on drug-control cooperation with more than 30 countries and unions of countries. It also advances the implementation of bilateral exchange and cooperation mechanisms on precursor chemicals with the European Union, Australia, and New Zealand, among others.
Drug abuse is a threat to human society. China will always honor its own drug-control responsibilities while working together with the international community to strengthen anti-drug cooperation to safeguard the health and wellbeing of all of humanity. Enditem
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