China cracks down on chemical networks linked to Fentanyl in move long sought by United States

China has taken strict action against accountability for chemical trafficking globally.

The Chinese authorities arrested seven people and subjected 12 more ‌to "criminal compulsory measures" in a campaign targeting traffickers in fentanyl precursor chemicals, state media said on Thursday, following pressure from the United States.

China's first wide-publication in years of legal action that has led to the arrests of traffickers also follows weekend trade talks with the United States to prepare for a summit originally planned for the end of the month of the U.S. and Chinese leaders in Beijing.

Operation targeted for the entire supply chain:

The official Xinhua news agency said the campaign in the central province of Hubei targeted the entire supply chain, from production ‌to storage and the export of precursor chemicals and was launched in December after a directive from the public security ministry.

The agency did not specify what "criminal compulsory measures" were taken against this crime.

Until now China had only issued industry notices and taken down websites that trade the chemicals.

Chinese officials, however, have defended their record on fentanyl, saying they had taken extensive action to regulate certain precursor chemicals and have accused Washington of using the issue as blackmail.

The U.S. Supreme Court last month invalidated a 10% fentanyl-related tariff Trump had imposed on China and others under an emergency statute.

The Trump administration has told Beijing it expected to reimpose that levy under a different law, a U.S. official said.

Xinhua said that "in one notable action based on information provided by U.S. drug enforcement authorities, investigators in Hubei successfully cracked a case involving the sale of state-controlled new psychoactive substances and Category II precursor chemicals for drug manufacturing".

During the operation, it said the Hubei anti-narcotics commission had "strengthened investigations into illegal activities involving fentanyl precursor chemicals and enhanced risk-prevention measures related to the sources of such chemicals."