US says corruption hampers China drug fight

BEIJING, Mar 2 (Reuters) Corruption is hampering China's fight against illicit drugs despite government efforts to combat graft, the US State Department said.

Chinese-made chemicals were increasingly being found at narcotic laboratories as far away as Belgium and Mexico, and China faced a serious problem from drugs flowing over the border from Myanmar and Central Asia, it said.

''Chinese authorities view drug trafficking and abuse as a major threat to its national security, its economy, and its national and regional stability,'' the department said in a report released in Washington yesterday.

''But corruption in far-flung drug-producing and drug-transit regions of China limits what dedicated enforcement officials can accomplish,'' the report said, though it added there was no evidence of high-level official corruption.

The report said China needed to do more to ensure chemicals for legitimate uses are not diverted away to make illegal narcotics.

This was a particular problem when it came to methamphetamine, it said.

''Although China recently enacted enhanced precursor chemical control laws and is fully engaged in multilateral and bilateral efforts to stop diversion from its chemical production sector, it has not matched the size of its large chemical industry with sufficient resources to effectively ensure against diversion.

''Large-scale seizure of chemicals diverted from China is almost commonplace in law enforcement investigations around the world,'' the report said But it praised China's counter-narcotics efforts and its willingness to cooperate internationally.

China estimates it has some 800,000 drug addicts, mostly hooked on heroin but with ecstasy and amphetamines also popular.

China's foreign ministry said it was not immediately able to comment on the report.

REUTERS SHB RAI0907