Smugglers punished in China
Officials from the US and China will hold a rare joint media briefing today on a fentanyl smuggling case.
The press conference will be in Xingtai city. It included the sentencing of the ring leader to the death penalty, albeit with a reprieve. Two others involved in the ring were also given life sentences. In total, 9 Chinese nationals were sentenced.
This is important because a crackdown on fentanyl was one of the things the US was asking for in order to complete a trade deal. This is a signal of progress on that front and the participation of US officials underscores that this is part of the effort to cooperate, and perhaps to close a deal.
