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China has agreed to tighten chemicals used to produce fentanyl following a visit by FBI Director Kash Patel, he announced Wednesday.
After Patel met with his Chinese counterparts, the Chinese government agreed to designate all 13 precursors and to control seven chemical subsidiaries used to make the lethal drug that has been blamed for thousands of American deaths each year, the FBI director announced at a White House press briefing on Wednesday.
“This was a historic trip for the FBI and America’s national security – the first time in a decade that an FBI Director has been to China and received an audience with his counterpart to discuss the fentanyl crisis,” Patel said in an exclusive statement to Fox News Digital. “The crisis doesn’t start at America’s borders – it starts with the flow of chemical precursors and the networks that move them. President Trump instructed his team to use all tools at our disposal to work with partners and cut off the precursor pipelines at their origin – and that’s what we accomplished.
“The FBI reached an agreement with the government of China to have 13 precursors listed and 7 chemicals restricted, a victory that will ultimately crush fentanyl traffickers and save so many American lives for generations to come,” he added. “We are dismantling the infrastructure that fuels this crisis at its source. By targeting those flows and dismantling supply chains before they ever reach our hemisphere, we’re saving American lives, strengthening our alliances, and building a secure future.”
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Patel also credited President Donald Trump’s recent meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping.
“This was only possible due to President Trump’s historic engagement with President XI just a few short weeks ago that set the stage for today’s announcement,” he said.
During his visit, Patel met with Chinese Vice Minister of Public Security Xu Datong to discuss law enforcement issues and follow-up on key outcomes of the meeting between Trump and Xi in Busan, South Korea last month. Xu and Patel discussed the implementation of China’s commitment to take action that will save American lives by stopping the flow of dangerous chemicals fueling the fentanyl crisis.
In 2023, the United States listed China as a major illicit drug producer.
When President Donald Trump took office, he imposed 10% tariffs on Beijing, accusing China of failing to curb the flow of chemicals used to make fentanyl. In response, China imposed its own tariffs.
U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi also praised Trump, saying seizures of fentanyl at the southern border have significantly decreased.
“Thanks to President Trump’s leadership and incredible work from the DOJ’s law enforcement agents, fentanyl seizures at our southern border are down 53% after years of crisis — now, we are targeting the source itself,” she said. “Director Patel, Administrator Terry Cole, and the entire FBI and DEA have been invaluable in our ongoing efforts to protect Americans from this poison, which has destroyed families across our country.”
Trump has said Beijing has enabled the illicit fentanyl production in Mexico and elsewhere by subsidizing the export of the precursor chemicals needed to produce these deadly drugs and failing to prevent Chinese companies from selling the precursors to criminal cartels.
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The FBI has seized 1,900 kilograms of fentanyl this year, representing a 31% increase from the same time last year, Patel said. He noted that the amount is enough to kill 127 million Americans.
“The FBI is a powerful force in our crucial efforts to stem the flow of fentanyl into America,” U.S. Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche said in an exclusive statement to Fox News Digital.
“This Department of Justice is empowering our law enforcement agents like never before to identify, investigate, and eliminate sources of deadly drugs before they even reach our shores,” he added. “We are proud of this work and at President Trump’s direction we will not rest until Americans are safe from this threat.”
The FBI director reiterated to the American people that nearly 100,000 people died of a fentanyl overdose last year alone.
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“Fentanyl precursors are what makes up fentanyl,” he said. “While we, the Interagency, the Department of Justice, have been fighting hard to seize and stop drug traffickers, we must attack fentanyl precursors, the ingredients necessary to make this lethal drug.”
“That was the sole purpose of my trip to China to eliminate these precursors,” Patel added. “And if successful, we would suffocate the drug trafficking organizations’ ability to manufacture fentanyl in places like Mexico. This was the first time an FBI director has been to China in over a decade, and received the audience with his counterpart to address this matter directly.”
“And again, thanks to President Trump’s direct engagement, President Xi, the government of China committed fully to my engagement there on the ground in Beijing at a level never seen before,” Patel said.
During meetings with Chinese officials, Patel also discussed expanding several areas of law enforcement cooperation, including targeting criminals who have stolen billions from both Chinese and American victims through cyber scams and telephone fraud, combatting online crimes against children, and ensuring violent criminals face justice.
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