Text: 1999 Narcotics Report on the Asia-Pacific Region
(Explanation Statement and Report on China)STATEMENT OF EXPLANATION
PEOPLE'S REPUBLIC OF CHINA
The People's Republic of China (PRC) continued to take strong, effective steps to combat the use and trafficking of illicit drugs in 1999. Although preliminary figures indicate that seizures of heroin declined significantly from 1998's record level (possibly because of a decline in production in Burma), China's heroin seizures still accounted for the great majority of heroin seized in all of Asia. Seizures of methamphetamine and other amphetamine-type stimulants soared, while those of precursor chemicals and opium remained at previous years' levels. China cooperated with the United States and other countries in providing pre-export notification of dual-use precursor chemicals. Government officials estimate that more than ten percent of China's 1.3 billion citizens viewed a nationwide anti-drug exhibition. DEA opened an office in Beijing. China continues to cooperate actively on operational issues with U.S. drug-enforcement officials. Domestically, China began a "Drug Free Communities" program to eliminate drug trafficking and abuse as well as drug-related crime.
During 1999, China cooperated with the UNDCP and regional states on a number of projects to reduce demand for illicit drugs. China also supported effective crop-substitution programs in Burma and Laos.
The United States and the PRC signed a Customs Mutual Assistance Agreement that will enhance communications and accelerate the flow of counter-drug-related intelligence. China is a party to the 1988 U.N. Drug Convention as well as to the 1961 U.N. Single Convention and its 1972 Protocol, and the 1971 Convention on Psychotropic Substances.
U.S.-PRC cooperative law enforcement has advanced over the last two years, but China frequently does not respond to USG requests for information, and when it does, the responses often arrive too late to be of operational value. China has also failed to enforce vigorously and to strengthen anti-money-laundering legislation. For a number of reasons, China has also continued its non-engagement in the Asia-Pacific Group on Money Laundering and did not pursue membership in the Financial Crimes Task Force.
Despite those shortcomings, the PRC has acted forcefully to stop the production, trafficking in, and use of illicit drugs within its borders and within the region, and is committed to achieving the goals and objectives of the 1988 U.N. Drug Convention.
China
I. Summary
China continued to take strong, effective steps to combat the use and trafficking of narcotic drugs in 1999. Although preliminary figures indicate that seizures of heroin declined significantly from 1998's record level, possibly because of a decline in production in Burma, China's total heroin seizures still surpassed the amount of heroin seized in all other Asian countries. Seizures of methamphetamine and other amphetamine-type stimulants soared, while those of precursor chemicals and opium remained at previous years' levels. Government officials estimate that more than 10 percent of China's 1.3 billion citizens viewed a nationwide anti-narcotics exhibition. The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) opened an office in Beijing. China continues to cooperate actively on operational issues with U.S. drug-enforcement officials. Although the overall relationship remained intact, some elements of the law-enforcement relationship were affected by NATO's accidental bombing of the Chinese Embassy in Belgrade. A meeting of the Joint Liaison Group, Subgroup on Law Enforcement, postponed after the bombing, is expected to convene in the spring of 2000. The U.S. and China expect to finalize a framework for mutual legal assistance in 2000 as well. China often did not respond to U.S. requests for information on law-enforcement issues, and, when it did reply, the information requested often arrived too late to be of operational value. China is a party to the 1988 UN Drug Convention as well as to the 1961 UN Single Convention and its 1972 Protocol, and the 1971 Convention on Psychotropic Substances.
II. Status of Country
China is now the principal route for heroin smuggled out of Burma, with roughly 90 percent of seizures of Southeast Asian heroin occurring within Chinese borders. There is evidence that some heroin also enters China from Laos and Vietnam and that smaller amounts enter from Southwest Asia. Preliminary figures suggest that heroin seizures in China declined significantly in 1999 from 1998's record level. Since narcotics interdiction remains one of China's primary law-enforcement priorities, it is likely that this decline was due, at least in part, to a decline in production in Burma. There are 596,000 registered heroin addicts in China, but the government recognizes that the actual number of users is far higher. Chinese officials are increasingly concerned about the abuse of methamphetamine and other amphetamine-type stimulants (ATS). Seizures of ATS more than doubled in 1999, with the largest seizure in excess of one metric ton.
China is a major producer of precursor chemicals. The ephedra plant, from which the precursor of methamphetamine is made, grows wild in northern China. China monitors all 22 of the chemicals on the 1988 UN Drug Convention watch list. Yunnan, the province most directly affected by China's drug problem, goes further by monitoring exports of 28 chemicals. China cooperates with the United States and others in providing pre-export notification of dual-use precursor chemicals.
Under Chinese law, laundering the proceeds from narcotics trafficking is a crime, but the legal system and the banking system have not kept pace with China's rapid internationalization. Consequently, China is vulnerable to financial exploitation by drug traffickers. China participated in early meetings of the Asia-Pacific Group on Money Laundering, but, for a number of reasons, has not attended recent meetings of that body and did not pursue membership in the Financial Action Task Force.
III. Country Action Against Drugs in 1999
The Chinese government has pledged to put more manpower, more material, and more financial resources into the fight against illicit narcotics. China's counternarcotics strategy includes prevention, education, interdiction, and rehabilitation. In 1999, the government produced more than 6000 sets of a traveling anti-drug educational exhibition, which counternarcotics officials estimate was viewed by more than 160 million people. Chinese educational efforts are targeted primarily at youth, the segment of society most likely to use illegal drugs.
Policy Initiatives. China is committed to achieving the goals of the 1988 UN Drug Convention. China cooperates with the UNDCP and regional states on a number of projects. One such project, scheduled to begin in 2000, aims to reduce demand in the regions bordering Yunnan province, where heroin enters China from Burma. China also supports crop-substitution efforts in Burma and Laos.
Law Enforcement Efforts. Preliminary figures suggest that, while significantly lower than last year's record level, Chinese seizures of Burmese heroin will continue to account for the great majority of all such seizures in Asia. On July 4, after a lengthy investigation, Guangdong provincial authorities broke a case that resulted in twelve arrests and the seizure of 1584 kilograms of methamphetamine, an amount nearly equal to last year's total seizures. DEA sent a letter of congratulation to the Minister of Public Security in recognition of this accomplishment.
Corruption. Despite on-going efforts to combat official corruption, the phenomenon remained widespread. The media regularly reported cases of high-level government officials implicated in corruption. Most of the reports involved smuggling of consumer goods, misappropriation of funds, embezzlement, or abuse of power. There were no reports in the state-controlled media of senior government officials engaging in narcotics-related corruption.
Agreements and Treaties. In April, China and the United States signed a Customs Mutual Assistance Agreement, which will speed communications and enhance the flow of counternarcotics-related intelligence. Problems in overall U.S.-China relations affected implementation of several aspects of a May 1998 Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) on Law Enforcement Cooperation. A meeting of the Joint Liaison Group was held in Washington in March 1999, but, in the wake of the accidental bombing of their Embassy in Belgrade, the Chinese postponed a follow-up meeting in Beijing in the fall. The follow-up meeting is expected to be held in spring 2000. The U.S. and China also expect to complete a framework for mutual legal assistance in 2000. In July 1999 the DEA opened an office in Beijing, as agreed in a Memorandum of Understanding signed in May 1998.
China is a member of the Memorandum of Understanding States (MOU States) with the UN Drug Control Program (UNDCP) and five Southeast Asian nations. In the MOU the members agreed to collaborate on drug-control projects and programs. China has signed more than 30 mutual legal assistance and extradition treaties with 24 countries.
Cultivation/Production. China produces limited quantities of opium, mostly for domestic consumption. Production of synthetic drugs is a growing problem, particularly in Fujian and Guangdong provinces. China is a major producer of precursor chemicals used in the manufacture of illegal drugs, and China continued to strengthen its efforts to control these chemicals. Chinese police monitor closely all precursor chemicals listed in the 1988 UN Drug Convention, particularly ephedrine and potassium permanganate. U.S.-China cooperation on monitoring the movement of precursor chemicals into and out of China is, in general, excellent. However, the Ministry of Public Security rarely provides responses to routine requests from the United States for verification of the bona fides of importers, exporters, and agents.
Drug Flow/Transit. China shares a 2000-kilometer border with Burma. The majority of heroin produced in Burma now travels through China en route to the international market. Smaller quantities of heroin enter China from Southwest Asia. China supports crop-substitution programs in Burma, as well as in Laos, which have resulted in significant decreases of poppy-crop production in the project areas.
Domestic Programs. There are 596,000 registered heroin addicts in China, but government officials admit that the actual number of users is far higher. More than 80 percent of drug abusers are under 35 years of age, and government anti-drug education campaigns are centered on this group. Drug treatment is compulsory for known users. Most of the more than 600 government-run drug treatment and rehabilitation centers rely on a "cold turkey" approach to break the drug habit. Some centers also use traditional Chinese medicines to help users overcome their addiction.
The government has also placed increasing importance on the establishment of "drug free communities." The goal of these communities is to eliminate narcotics trafficking and drug-related crime, but also to provide an environment free of the pressures that lead many former abusers to relapse into drug use.
IV. U.S. Policy Initiatives and Programs
Policy Initiatives. Despite setbacks in other areas of the bilateral relationship in 1999, operational-level cooperation between Chinese and U.S. law-enforcement officials continued. U.S. policy objectives are to expand bilateral dialogue at both the operational and policy level, to foster more cooperation between American and Chinese enforcement officials, to increase Chinese counternarcotics capability, and to encourage regional counternarcotics cooperation.
Bilateral Cooperation. In 1999 the United States worked to improve counternarcotics cooperation at the operational level. A significant step in that direction was the establishment of a DEA office in Beijing. The United States regularly provided operational intelligence to Chinese narcotics enforcement officials, but the Chinese response to U.S. requests for similar information was uneven. In 1999 the Department of State, DEA, and the U.S. Customs Service continued to provide training designed to improve the enforcement ability of Chinese counternarcotics officials. In May Chinese law-enforcement officials participated in a two-week DEA-sponsored training course on jetway narcotics inspections. The U.S. Customs service held a contraband enforcement team training session in Yunnan province in March. In August U.S. Customs conducted a "risk management" course designed to help Chinese Customs officials identify high-risk cargoes. The Chinese postponed or cancelled a number of other training courses following NATO's accidental bombing of the Chinese Embassy in Belgrade.
Throughout 1999, however, Chinese officers attended counternarcotics and general law-enforcement training courses at the joint U.S.-Thai International Law Enforcement Academy in Bangkok. This important regional forum brought together police and other law-enforcement officials from throughout the region to improve regional technical abilities and establish ties among regional counternarcotics and law-enforcement officials.
The Road Ahead. Improved and expanded cooperation on narcotics enforcement is in the interest of both the United States and China. The United States will seek to expand our fruitful operational-level relationship with China and to encourage a resumption of our mutually beneficial high-level dialogue on counternarcotics issues. Although the transshipment of Burmese heroin remains the problem of most immediate concern to the United States, we will monitor closely, and assess the potential impact on the United States of, the alarming rise in methamphetamine seizures in China.
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