China will provide strong technical support for anti-drug cooperation with the U.S., according to China's National Narcotics Laboratory, an affiliate of the Ministry of Public Security.

Hua Zhendong, a representative of China's National Narcotics Laboratory, told CGTN in an exclusive interview that China welcomed the U.S.' announcement to remove their laboratory from the "entity list."

He said the U.S.' sanction of putting the lab on the "entity list" has ignored China's goodwill and seriously undermined the foundation of bilateral anti-drug cooperation between China and the U.S.

"The National Narcotics Laboratory has undertaken multiple technical tasks including monitoring the illegal production and trafficking of fentanyl, as well as categorizing fentanyl-like substances," said Hua.

"The dire crisis of fentanyl abuse in [the] U.S. is rooted in itself, especially the loose control over opioid drugs, resulting in a large amount of people getting [addicted]."

Hua mentioned the decision from both China and the U.S. to establish a working group on counter-narcotics issues will bring new opportunities for technology exchanges between the two countries.