A recent in-depth Chinese state media report on China and Vietnam’s joint anti-narcotics efforts cited numerous cases of heroin being smuggled from Southeast Asia into China. A 2010 Brookings Institution report on North Korean drug smuggling noted: “Across China, more than 70 percent of drug addicts abuse heroin, but in Jilin Province more than 90 percent of addicts abuse new synthetic drugs and ice in particular.” While there are a lot of synthetic drug users in Yunnan Province, which borders Southeast Asia’s notorious Golden Triangle, this appears to be because the province is used as a hub to smuggle synthetic drugs out of China into Southeast Asia. North Korea is believed to be a major source of synthetic drugs in China, such as crystal meth (often called “ice” in both countries). By contrast, Chinese state media reported that “the percentage of drug users addicted to opioids fell from 70.5 percent in 2010 to 60.6 percent in 2012.” According to official Chinese statistics, synthetic drug users accounted for 72.6 percent of the total registered drug users in 2012, up from 55.6 percent in 2010. This focus derives from the fact that synthetic drug use has spiked in China in recent years, even as use of more traditional drugs has fallen. This is particularly troubling from North Korea’s perspective, as Chinese authorities have repeatedly singled out synthetic drugs as one of their main targets in the new war on drugs.
This used to largely consist of opium and heroin but in the last decade or so those drugs have seemingly been surpassed in volume by insanely pure methamphetamine (along with other synthetic drugs like MDMA, the main ingredient in ecstasy and molly). It has long been documented that large amounts of North Korean-produced narcotics are smuggled across the border into China either for sale there or for shipment elsewhere. However, the biggest loser in China’s new war on drugs is likely to be North Korea. So far, public reports have indicated that the main targets in this stepped up war on drugs are high-profile celebrities and foreigners from Western nations and Asian countries like South Korea and Japan. As The Diplomat has been following closely, China recently launched a crackdown on illegal narcotics in the country.
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