US-China Tensions Over Drug Offenders

US State Department Offers $5 Million Reward for Chinese Drug Dealer; Chinese Foreign Ministry Says No Violation of Chinese Law
Pentanyl Not Classified as Drug in China... China Classified It as Drug in May 2019

[Asia Economy Beijing=Special Correspondent Jo Young-shin] China and the United States are engaged in a standoff over the bounty issue concerning a drug trafficking suspect. After the U.S. Department of State offered a $5 million (approximately 5.8 billion KRW) bounty on a Chinese drug trafficking suspect named Zhang Jian, the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs rebutted, stating that there is insufficient concrete evidence that Zhang violated Chinese law.

Wang Wenbin, spokesperson for the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Photo by Global Times)

On the 30th of last month (local time), the U.S. Department of State issued a press release announcing a wanted notice for a Chinese national named Zhang Jian. The Department stated that a $5 million (about 5.8 billion KRW) reward would be given for information leading to his arrest, conviction, or whereabouts.

The Department of State alleged that Zhang led a drug trafficking organization and distributed opioid-based narcotic analgesics such as fentanyl from 2013 to 2016, causing the deaths of four Americans due to overdose.

The U.S. Department of State also explained that Zhang was indicted in January 2018 in North Dakota along with Americans, Canadians, and other Chinese nationals, and that the arrested American accomplices were sentenced to more than 20 years in prison.

In response, the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued an official statement. On the 31st of last month, Wang Wenbin, spokesperson for the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, urged, "Immediately withdraw the bounty on the wanted Chinese national and stop slandering and attacking China."

Spokesperson Wang added that this case was jointly investigated since 2016 at the request of the United States, and that the Chinese government cooperated by verifying Zhang’s identity and notifying relevant information to the U.S.

The bounty dispute between the two countries began with the classification of fentanyl substances. The Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs emphasized that at the time of Zhang’s alleged crimes, fentanyl was classified in China as a general chemical substance, not a narcotic.

Wang said, "Judicial cooperation between countries occurs when crimes punishable by law are involved in both the U.S. and China," and added, "We have not received evidence from the U.S. side that Zhang violated Chinese law."

China classified fentanyl-related substances as narcotics and psychotropic substances in May 2019.

Wang criticized, "Despite clearly knowing that the U.S. would have difficulty achieving results, it issued a bounty on a Chinese national," calling it "a serious destruction of the foundation of China-U.S. anti-drug cooperation and an obstacle to future cooperation between the two sides."

Chinese state media also supported the Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ position. The Global Times reported that international judicial cooperation is based on respect for sovereignty and judicial authority, and that the U.S.’s unilateral action would bring new disputes between the two countries.

Li Haidong, a professor at the China Foreign Affairs University, said, "It is disappointing and a dangerous signal that the U.S. is pushing China-U.S. anti-drug cooperation into confrontation," adding, "This bounty issue will result in narrowing the scope of cooperation between the two countries."

The Global Times criticized the U.S. Department of State, stating that the U.S. is not focusing on solving the problem of psychotropic substance abuse among its own citizens but is trying to shift the problem and responsibility onto China.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.