China, US deepen drug fight

China and the United States have taken another major step forward in antinarcotics cooperation, with both sides pledging shared efforts in response to global drug challenges during the first senior officials' meeting of their Counternarcotics Working Group.

At the meeting convened in Washington on Wednesday, both sides reviewed progress in bilateral counternarcotics efforts, including cooperation regarding relevant cases, technique exchanges, multilateral cooperation and clearing up of online advertisements, Xinhua News Agency reported on Friday.

They also had exchanges about their respective concerns and clarified the direction of cooperation going forward.

Both sides agreed to further strengthen dialogue and communications, and deepen counternarcotics cooperation on the basis of "respecting each other, managing differences and conducting mutually beneficial cooperation".

During its visit to the US, the Chinese delegation had bilateral exchanges with a number of US authorities, including the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy.

It will also have in-depth discussions over key cases with front-line investigators of the US Drug Enforcement Administration's San Francisco office.

According to a readout released by the White House, the meeting was attended by Wei Xiaojun, director general of the Narcotics Control Bureau of the Ministry of Public Security, who led the Chinese interagency delegation, and Jennifer Daskal, US deputy assistant to the president and deputy Homeland Security advisor.

The meeting came about six months after China and the US launched the Counternarcotics Working Group, one of the many common understandings that the two countries' heads of state reached at their summit in San Francisco in November.

The talks also focused on accelerating the scheduling of synthetic drugs and precursor chemicals, addressing the illicit diversion of precursor chemicals and exchanging information on emerging threats, the readout said.

US Ambassador to China Nicholas Burns said on his X account that the CWG meeting is part of "critical cooperation" that "can save lives".

Beijing and Washington have so far held several rounds of high-level talks on antinarcotics cooperation, with the Chinese side reaffirming its commitment to strengthening bilateral and multilateral antinarcotics exchanges and cooperation.

Wang Dong, executive director of the Institute for Global Cooperation and Understanding at Peking University, said the counternarcotics meeting is important in terms of delivering on the consensuses between the heads of state and stabilizing bilateral relations.

China and the US share common interests in drug control, Wang said, adding that it's necessary for the two countries to expand their common interests and effectively manage their differences.

This year, China and the US have maintained exchanges in narcotics control, with a recent engagement being State Councilor and Director of China National Narcotic Control Committee Wang Xiaohong meeting with visiting White House Director of National Drug Control Policy Rahul Gupta in Beijing in June.

Wang Dong said the US' "narrow and hegemonic mindset" will hamper its antinarcotics cooperation with China and called for Washington to correct its "misperception of China's strategic intentions", adding that the two sides should keep up exchanges in various sectors to gradually rectify misperceptions.