The West once flooded China with opium. China is returning the favour

WHEN POLICE raided an apartment used by a chemicals exporter in the northern city of Xingtai just over a year ago, they found a team of English-speaking saleswomen hired to advertise illegal wares on foreign websites. Last month their boss was among nine people who pleaded guilty in a Chinese court to producing and mailing narcotics to America. The drugs included fentanyl, a potent opioid painkiller that has killed tens of thousands of people. The investigation began with a tip-off from American police, who were investigating one of the gang’s customers. They said the joint Chinese-American effort had prevented 20m doses of fentanyl from being sent abroad.

On December 1st China gave another hint that it was getting tougher on the drug that has blighted America (see article). The country’s president, Xi Jinping, agreed to close loopholes that allow some unlicensed distributors of fentanyl to operate legally. Foreign governments, especially America’s, have for years been calling on the Communist Party to suppress the trade. The White House called Mr Xi’s pledge, made during a meeting with President Donald Trump on the sidelines of a G20 summit in Argentina, a “wonderful humanitarian gesture”. But it is unclear whether much will change as a result, in China or elsewhere.