The United States has repatriated a Chinese national suspected of drug trafficking and smuggling, marking the first transfer of a fugitive drug offender from the US to China in recent years.

China's Ministry of Public Security said in a statement on Friday that the suspect, identified only by his surname Han, had been handed over to Chinese authorities through immigration enforcement channels following intelligence provided by the ministry's anti-narcotics department, which oversees the nation's anti-narcotics drive.

The two countries do not have a formal extradition treaty.

The repatriation marked the latest step in bilateral law enforcement cooperation on drug-related crimes, driven notably by intelligence sharing.

The two nations formed the US-PRC Counternarcotics Working Group in January 2024, following a decision to resume bilateral cooperation on anti-narcotics operations.

In February 2025, Chinese antidrug authorities and the China Coast Guard captured seven suspects and seized nearly 5,000 kilograms of methamphetamine in the South China Sea based on US intelligence.

In December 2025, authorities in Hubei province launched a crackdown on trafficking of fentanyl precursor chemicals. Acting on intelligence provided by US drug enforcement authorities, investigators successfully cracked a case involving the sale of State-controlled new psychoactive substances and precursor chemicals used for manufacturing drugs.

In February, the two sides held the 11th China-US anti-drug intelligence exchange meeting in the US.

lilei@chinadaily.com.cn