Seizures of methamphetamine and other amphetamine-type stimulants soared, while those of precursor chemicals and opium remained at previous years' levels. Government officials estimate that more than ten percent of China's 1.3 billion citizens viewed a nationwide anti-drug exhibition. DEA opened an office in Beijing.
China continues to cooperate actively on operational issues with U.S. drug-enforcement officials.
China also supported effective crop-substitution programs in Burma and Laos. China is a party to the 1988 U.N. Drug Convention as well as to the 1961 U.N. Single Convention and its 1972 Protocol, and the 1971 Convention on Psychotropic Substances. U.S.-PRC cooperative law enforcement has advanced over the last two years, but China frequently does not respond to USG requests for information, and when it does, the responses often arrive too late to be of operational value. Despite those shortcomings, the PRC has acted forcefully to stop the production, trafficking in, and use of illicit drugs within its borders and within the region, and is committed to achieving the goals and objectives of the 1988 U.N. Drug Convention. China I. Summary China continued to take strong, effective steps to combat the use and trafficking of narcotic drugs in 1999.