110,000 lives lost in the U.S. in 2022...Americans aged 18 to 49 are the number one cause of death."

The fentanyl issue, which U.S. President-elect Donald Trump suggested as a reason to impose an additional 10% tariff on China, is so serious that it has been mentioned as a national security threat in the U.S.

Fentanyl, the so-called "zombie drug," is a type of opioid, a narcotic painkiller, and is 50 times more powerful than heroin.

Fentanyl overdoses in the U.S. alone are estimated to have killed about 110,000 people in 2022 and ranked first in the cause of death between the ages of 18 and 49, which was introduced to the U.S. in earnest from China about a decade ago through international mail.

The U.S. government believes that Chinese companies currently supply chemical raw materials needed to make fentanyl to Mexican drug trafficking organizations rather than directly export them to the U.S., and that fentanyl and raw materials made from China from Mexico cross the border and distribute to the U.S.

Because of this, fentanyl has been a major stumbling block in U.S.-China relations for years, and the previous U.S. administration has also tried to solve the problem by pressing China.

Trump declared an opioid public health emergency in October 2017, during his first term in office, and he also called for stricter fentanyl regulations during a meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping in December 2018.

Under pressure from U.S. tariffs, Xi has agreed to designate fentanyl as a regulated drug as one of several, accepting Trump's demands as a way to avoid a full-scale trade war.

This means anyone who sells fentanyl to the United States could face a statutory maximum sentence in China, the White House explained at the time.

It seems to be in this context that Trump announced a plan to add 10% more tariffs on China on the 25th local time, claiming that "Chinese representatives told me they would face the death penalty for all drug dealers caught sending drugs to the United States, but unfortunately they did not implement it."

Since then, China has worked with the United States, but has used the fentanyl issue as leverage in bilateral relations, such as stopping cooperation when relations are not good.Cooperation became more remote as U.S.-China relations deteriorated due to the

{Reconnaissance Balloon'' issue, and then resumed in November last year when U.S. President Joe Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping met in San Francisco.

In talks, China agreed to crack down directly on chemical companies that manufacture fentanyl raw materials to prevent fentanyl flowing into the U.S. from China via Mexico,
After
the United States has formed a working group to coordinate drug issues, and China's public security ministry said in August it would go into control of three fentanyl precursors.

Earlier in June, China launched a crackdown campaign on fentanyl precursors and arrested money launderers believed to have worked for Mexican drug cartels following a U.S. intelligence report.

The Biden administration has welcomed China's efforts and has pointed to fentanyl as an area where the U.S. and China can compete but cooperate.

After Trump's announcement of additional tariffs, China refuted on the 26th, saying, "China and the United States have achieved remarkable results by conducting extensive and in-depth drug-ban cooperation."

"China hopes to continue anti-drug cooperation with the U.S. based on equality, mutual benefit and mutual respect," Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Ma Ning said at a regular briefing. "The U.S. should cherish China's good intentions and maintain a hard-won phase of anti-drug cooperation with China."

China says it is the world's strictest and most thorough drug-free policy, and that fentanyl is a U.S. problem.

The New York Times (NYT) reported on the 26th that "China has long avoided responsibility for the U.S. fentanyl crisis, blaming the U.S. government's policies," and "China also portrays China as a victim of drugs, pointing to Britain's exploitative opium trade in the 19th century."

In the United States, Trump seems to have brought up tariffs to pressure China for a stronger response to the fentanyl issue, but there are also concerns that it could be difficult to get China's cooperation.

The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) pointed out on the 27th local time that "the resumption of the trade war risks causing China to shut down one of the most productive diplomatic channels."