BEIJING — The U.S. handed over a Chinese fugitive suspected of drug-related crimes to China for the first time in recent years, state news agency Xinhua reported on Friday, citing Chinese police.
The individual, surnamed Han, was suspected of drug smuggling and trafficking, Xinhua said. The suspect was repatriated to China by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency based on leads provided by China’s narcotics-control authorities, it added.
The report did not specify when the handover took place or provide further details on the drug Han was accused of smuggling.
The joint action comes ahead of a visit to China by U.S. President Donald Trump, which was originally planned for the end of March but postponed to May due to the war in Iran.
Trump has used tariffs to pressure China to crack down on sellers of chemicals used to make fentanyl, the deadly synthetic opioid that is a leading cause of drug overdose deaths in the U.S.
Trump agreed to lower fentanyl-related tariffs after meeting Chinese President Xi Jinping in South Korea in October, in exchange for China’s pledge to crack down on the fentanyl networks.
The two countries have nonetheless continued to spar over the issue, with Washington accusing Beijing of failing to stop sales of precursor chemicals for fentanyl; China has dismissed the allegation as false while calling the U.S. irresponsible.
Last month, state media reported that China had arrested seven people and subjected 12 more to “criminal compulsory measures” in an operation targeting traffickers of fentanyl precursors, but Washington has said it wanted to see seizures and convictions, not just arrests.
