01 March 2006
China Taking "Great Strides" Against Narcotics Trafficking
State Department annual report cites rise in drug abuse, transit flow
By Todd Bullock
Washington File Staff Writer
Washington - Chinese authorities are making "great strides" to combat regional and global narcotics trafficking, but there also has been a rise in domestic drug abuse and corruption in remote provincial regions, according to the State Department's annual report on narcotics trafficking.
The report -- the 2006 International Narcotics Control Strategy Report (INCSR) -- was released March 1, in accordance with the Foreign Assistance Act. It describes the efforts of key countries to attack all aspects of the international drug trade in calendar year 2005. (See related article.)
ACCOMPLISHMENTS
China has completely eradicated opium poppy cultivation and increased efforts to destroy illicit drug laboratories within its borders, the report said.
However, China is also one of the world's largest producers of ephedra, which is used for medicinal purposes but can be diverted for the production of methamphetamine.
"China remains a significant source of chemicals diverted to illicit uses, some diversions as far away as Europe," the report says.
The Chinese government has increased its counternarcotics efforts through several highly publicized campaigns, including a nationwide "People's War" on narcotics campaign.
The report also cited additional coordination between officials at the national and provincial level as well as increased training, cooperation and participation in exchange programs with other Asian law enforcement agencies.
An example of this international cooperation was a joint investigation among Chinese, Lao, Thai and Burmese authorities that resulted in the seizure of 426 kilograms of heroin in Burma and the arrest of a Chinese national for drug smuggling.
Addressing cooperation with the United States, the report says China shares information on drug-smuggling operations with U.S. authorities on a case-by-case basis.
The report said improvement on bilateral enforcement counternarcotics cooperation between China and the United States is anticipated in the upcoming year.
DOMESTIC DRUG ABUSE ON THE RISE
In 2004 China had as many as 1.6 million registered drug addicts, double the number in 1995, according to the report.
Youths made up 74 percent of the registered drug addicts, the report says.
China's economic growth and increasing societal openness over the last decade has dramatically increased the disposable income and leisure time of millions of young urban residents.
"This phenomenon has led to a rapid increase in drug abuse among the country's youth in large and mid-sized cities," the report says, adding the rise in the urban culture of nightclubs and "raves" has led to increased recreational abuse of drugs such as Ecstasy.
Chinese authorities have responded with several public awareness campaigns and increased enforcement, which have included expansion of drug education and prevention programs.
DRUG TRANSIT
China, along with Vietnam, was removed in 2005 from the list of major drug transit or major illicit drug producing countries because of insufficient evidence to suggest that China is a major source for illicit narcotics that significantly affect the United States.
However, China continues to be used as a transshipment route to the international market for drugs produced in Southeast Asia, according to the report.
Despite cooperation with neighboring countries, narcotics infiltration into southern Yunnan and Guangdong provinces has been pervasive as well as trafficking between China and North Korea.
Chinese authorities also have recognized significant problems with heroin and methamphetamines being trafficked into western Xinjiang province.
CORRUPTION
Official corruption in China is a serious problem and has undermined counternarcotic efforts in remote provinces.
"Most corruption activities in China involve abuse of power, embezzlement," the report says. "[B]ut payoffs to 'look the other way' when questionable commercial activities occur, including drug smuggling, are clearly another major source of official corruption in China."
Even though narcotics-related corruption is seldom reported in the press, Chinese authorities take allegations of drug-related corruption seriously, launching investigations as appropriate.
According to the report, most cases involve lower-level district and country officials.
"Although there is no substantive evidence indicating senior-level corruption in drug trafficking," the report said, "the quantity of drugs trafficked within China raises suspicions that official corruption is a factor in trafficking in certain provinces bordering drug-producing regions, such as Yunnan, and in Guangdong and Fujian, where narcotics trafficking and other forms of transnational crimes are prevalent."
The full text of the two-volume 2006 International Narcotics Control Strategy Report is available on the Department of State Web site.
For additional information on U.S. policy, see The United States and China.
(The Washington File is a product of the Bureau of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)
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