U.S.-China trade negotiations may receive boost from joint opioid smuggling investigation

Opioid China.
(Image credit: Getty Images)

A joint law enforcement investigation between the United States and China may help inch the two countries closer to a long-anticipated trade deal, Bloomberg reports.

The investigation reportedly revolves around fentanyl smuggling, and China's National Narcotics Control Commission is expected to hold a press conference Thursday about the case, in which officers from both countries will reportedly give a briefing on their cooperation. Fentanyl is a highly addictive painkiller that has played a central role in the opioid crisis, leading to thousands of deaths in the U.S.

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Tim O'Donnell

Tim is a staff writer at The Week and has contributed to Bedford and Bowery and The New York Transatlantic. He is a graduate of Occidental College and NYU's journalism school. Tim enjoys writing about baseball, Europe, and extinct megafauna. He lives in New York City.