The announcement came shortly after U.S. President Donald Trump said he would postpone a highly anticipated trip to China because of the Iran War. Trump has used tariffs to try to pressure China to do more to stem the export of fentanyl precursors — the chemical ingredients that go into the synthetic opioid blamed for tens of thousands of overdose deaths annually in the U.S.
The Hubei Daily News said in an online report that a fentanyl precursor task force established in December had investigated 22 cases in Hubei province through February.