US, China partner to end fentanyl production after pressure from Trump admin

China has partnered with the United States to end the production of fentanyl worldwide, FBI Director Kash Patel announced Wednesday.

“President Trump has shut off the pipeline that creates fentanyl that kills tens of thousands of Americans,” Patel said in a press briefing. “These substances are now banned, and they will no longer be utilized by the Mexican drug trafficking organizations or any other DTOs around the world to make this drug.” 

Patel, in his recent trip to China, visited the Ministry of Public Security headquarters and said he met with his “counterpart” there to discuss a plan on eliminating fentanyl precursors – “the ingredients necessary to make this lethal drug.”

“The People’s Republic of China has fully designated and listed all 13 precursors utilized to make fentanyl,” Patel said. “Furthermore, they have agreed to control seven chemical subsidiaries that are also utilized to produce this lethal drug, effective immediately.” 

His trip followed President Donald Trump’s visit to China, where he met with President Xi Jinping. Patel said Trump’s meeting “set the stage” for his own trip to China. 

“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,” Patel said. “And again, thanks to President Trump’s direct engagement with President Xi, the government of China committed fully to my engagement there on the ground in Beijing at a level never seen before.” 

Inhibiting fentanyl’s manufacture will save tens of thousands of lives, Patel said. Nearly 100,000 people died from fentanyl overdose in 2024, he said.  

After his inauguration, Trump formed a team to end drug trafficking. In the past nine months, the FBI has seized 1,900 kilograms of fentanyl – enough to kill 127 million Americans – marking a 31% increase in the amount seized from the same time last year, Patel said.  

While obstructing drug trafficking is important, Patel said the suspension of drug precursors will “crush the plague of fentanyl.” 

“This is yet another example of how President Trump defends the American people, provide security for the American people, and puts the American people first,” Patel said. “This is a historic first in its kind, achievement by any president to stop the scourge of fentanyl, and it should be championed by every single American.”