In this episode of the ChinaPower Podcast, we are joined by Dr. Vanda Felbab-Brown to discuss China’s role in the fentanyl epidemic. Dr. Felbab-Brown explains that the fentanyl crisis is not just confined to the U.S. but has spread throughout North America as well as the rest of the globe. She unpacks the Chinese government’s approach to this issue and the conflicts it faces with trafficking networks. Moving forward, Dr. Felbab-Brown underscores the opportunity for the United States to engage with other countries to tackle this problem collaboratively. 

Dr. Vanda Felbab-Brown is a senior fellow in the Strobe Talbott Center for Security, Strategy, and Technology in the Foreign Policy program at the Brookings Institution. She is the director of the Initiative on Nonstate Armed Actors and acted as a senior advisor to the congressionally-mandated Afghanistan Peace Process Study Group. Dr. Felbab-Brown is an expert on international and internal conflicts and nontraditional security threats, including insurgency, organized crime, urban violence, and illicit economies.