At its regular press conference on August 26, 2019, China’s Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Geng Shuang blamed the U.S. for its fentanyl problem. From the supply and demand theory, Geng indicated that the fault is the result of the U.S. demand. He argued that implicitly it is not the result of China’s supplying such a drug.
The question asked was: “US President Trump tweeted on August 23 that he has ordered American delivery companies to search for fentanyl in all packages from China and block any deliveries that contain such substances. FedEx, UPS, and the U.S. Postal Service said they began taking measures to prevent drug traffickers from using their services following President Trump’s instruction. I wonder, what is China’s comment?”
Geng gave a lengthy answer, including the statement, “As laws of basic economics tell us, demand and supply come hand in hand. Supply dries up when there is no demand. In the U.S., people tend to abuse prescription painkillers. The American people, accounting for only five percent of the world population, consume as much as 80 percent of the world’s total opioids. The U.S. government can by all means intensify its efforts to reduce the demand for fentanyl.”
Source: China’s Foreign Ministry website, August 26, 2019
https://www.fmprc.gov.cn/mfa_eng/xwfw_665399/s2510_665401/t1692042.shtml