Biden to Lift Curbs on Chinese Forensic Lab in Fentanyl Deal

  • Chinese forensic science institute will come off US blacklist
  • Fentanyl agreement was centerpiece of Biden-Xi meeting

Joe Biden and Xi Jinping before a meeting in Woodside, California, on Nov. 15.

Photographer: Brendan Smialowski/AFP/Getty Images

The US will lift restrictions on a Chinese agency accused of human-rights violations in exchange for Beijing’s planned crackdown on the fentanyl trade, according to a Biden administration official.

Joe Biden’s deal with Xi Jinping to curb production of illicit fentanyl, a deadly synthetic drug, was one of the main achievements for the US president resulting from his high-stakes meeting with the Chinese leader in California this week.