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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.
“Essentially, President Trump has shut off the pipeline that creates fentanyl that kills tens of thousands of Americans,” Patel told reporters. “These substances are now banned, and they will no longer be utilized by the Mexican drug trafficking organizations.”
TRUMP PREDICTS ‘VERY HAPPY’ OUTCOME AHEAD OF FACE-TO-FACE WITH CHINA’S XI AFTER TARIFF THREATS
FBI Director Kash Patel speaks during the press briefing in the Brady Briefing Room of the White House in Washington, DC, on Nov. 12, 2025. (Getty Images)
“That was the sole purpose of my trip to China to eliminate these precursors,” he added. “And if successful, we would suffocate the drug trafficking organizations ability to manufacture fentanyl in places like Mexico.”
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,” Patel said.
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.
This images shows the Chinese flag and evidence of fentanyl. ((Paul Yeung/Bloomberg via Getty Images and Thomas Simonetti/Bloomberg via Getty Images))
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.
The FBI has seized 1,900 kilograms of fentanyl this year, Patel said, enough to kill 127 million Americans.
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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.”
