The office should open sometime during 1999. Law Enforcement Efforts. The Chinese Government created a new Anti-Drug Bureau within the Ministry of Public Security with responsibility for all counternarcotics policies, programs, and enforcement efforts. At the operational level, law-enforcement officials seized record quantities of heroin, opium, and precursor chemicals slated for illegal use. China expanded counternarcotics cooperation with other governments, including with the United States.
Official corruption continues to plague Chinese social, political, and economic life.
Despite a high profile, nationwide, anti-corruption campaign, which has resulted in thousands of arrests, the phenomenon remains widespread. Most cases of high-level corruption reported in 1998 involved smuggling consumer goods or abuse of official power. There were no reports of senior government officials engaging in narcotics-related corruption. Agreements and Treaties. To date, China's response to U.S. requests under the MOU have left something to be desired.