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China and US agree to target money launderers linked to fentanyl trade
Cracking down on finances from the illegal trade is an area of ‘extreme agreement’, Scott Bessent says after Madrid trade talks
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The United States and China found a rare common ground in their trade talks in Madrid this week, agreeing to work together to crack down on money laundering from illegal fentanyl sales.
After the talks ended on Monday, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said both nations suffered the consequences of the money laundering from the trade.
“The money laundering is the result of fentanyl sales, and both the People’s Republic of China’s government and the US government and citizens are hurt by the money laundering,” he said.
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Bessent added that modern money laundering networks were the “offspring” of groups originally designed to evade China’s capital controls and had since morphed to serve Mexican drug cartels.
“We discussed ways we could work together and the Chinese delegation was very keen to work with us. It was an area of extreme agreement,” he said.
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US, China join forces to counter global fentanyl trade
US, China join forces to counter global fentanyl trade
The US has long accused China of being both a source of fentanyl precursors – the chemicals used to make the drug – and a hub for money laundering networks.
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