Sanctions over US drug problem condemned

China on Thursday condemned sanctions imposed by the United States on Chinese enterprises and an individual in an action that Washington claims is in response to the health crisis stemming from widespread opioid addiction.

The US actions target the supply of fentanyl-related substances.

Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin said the US should stop shifting the blame on to other countries in relation to the problem.

Wang made the comments after the US Treasury Department on Wednesday imposed the sanctions on four Chinese chemical companies and one person, as it vowed to step up action to curb the epidemic of opioid overdoses that killed a record 100,000 people in the US last year.

The actions "will help disrupt the global supply chain and the financial networks that enable synthetic opioids and precursor chemicals to reach the US", US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a statement.