The Chinese government believes that drugs are a worldwide public hazard confronting the whole of mankind, and drug control is an imminent and common responsibility incumbent to international society. Drugs harm people's health, give rise to corruption and crimes, disrupt sustainable development and endanger national security and world peace. Therefore, all illegal activities involving drugs must be strictly prohibited and eliminated.

The Chinese people feel keenly the harm of drugs, and know that drug control is in their fundamental interests. Safeguarding citizens' lives, and protecting the people's subsistence and development are the lofty responsibilities of the Chinese government. For many years, the Chinese government has taken drug control as a fundamental objective, and has formulated and implemented a series of principles, policies and measures in this regard.

----Attending to drug control as a vital matter involving the rise and fall of the Chinese nation. We take drug control as a basic policy and include it in the program for national economic and social development, and make it an important duty of governments at all levels. The governments at all levels have set up a drug control work responsibility system that suits the actual conditions of China to maintain the permanent momentum in drug control.

----Implementing a comprehensive drug control strategy. We take drug control as a complex social system project and a long-term strategic task, and use various means in a comprehensive way-law, administration, the economy, culture, education, and medical treatment, to mobilize and organize all social walks of life to participate in the anti-drug struggle.

----Persisting in drug control according to law. In accordance with the general plan of exercising the rule of law, we have persisted in setting up and perfecting a system of laws and regulations concerning drug control, administered and controlled narcotics, psychotropic substances, and precursor chemicals, prevented and punished drug-related crimes. We have resolutely cracked down on various illegal activities involving drugs, started drug addiction treatment and rehabilitation, corrected, cured and rescued drug addicts, so as to guarantee that drug control work proceeds in a law-governed manner.

----Formulating the working principle of "promoting'4-in-1 prohibitions' simultaneously, eradicating sources of drugs and obstructing their channels of trafficking, enforcing the law strictly, and solving the problem by examining both its root causes and its symptoms."While prohibiting drug abuse, trafficking, cultivating and manufacturing, we lay equal stress on the control of illicit supplies and the prevention of drug abuse, forbid and crack down on all illegal activities involving drugs.

----Taking the prevention of drug abuse by teenagers as a basic project in drug control. As for teenagers, we put stress on education and protection, adopt various powerful measures, organize and coordinate relevant government departments and various mass organizations to perfect the preventive work, and educate youngsters to treasure their lives and refuse drugs.

----Actively participating in and promoting international cooperation in drug control. The Chinese government supports international drug control cooperation, and earnestly implements three propositions in this regard: adhering to the principle of extensive participation and shared responsibilities; comprehensively implementing an overall and balanced international drug control strategy; and attaching great importance to alternative development to promote a solution to the drug problem for good.

In China, drug control is led by governments at all levels, in the care of the drug control departments of public security authorities, co-administered by relevant government functional departments and participated in jointly by mass organizations. In 1990, the Chinese government set up the National Narcotics Control Commission (NNCC), composed of 25 departments, including the Ministry of Public Security, Ministry of Health and General Administration of Customs. The NNCC leads the nation's drug control work in a unified way, and is responsible for international drug control cooperation, with an operational agency based in the Ministry of Public Security. In 1998, with the approval of the State Council, the Ministry of Public Security set up the Drug Control Bureau, which also serves as an operational agency of the NNCC. Now, the governments of all the 31 provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities and most counties (cities and districts) in China have set up corresponding drug control leading organs. Meanwhile, the public security organs of 24 provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities, and of the 204 regions (cities and prefectures) and 735 counties (cities and districts) under the jurisdiction of these provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities have set up police anti-drug squads. The Chinese People's Armed Police, frontier defense force of the public security authorities, judicial departments, Customs, supervision and control organs of pharmaceuticals, and administration departments for industry and commerce also undertake corresponding anti-drug law enforcement tasks. Governments at all levels in China include the funds required for drug control in their financial budgets, and along with the development of the national economy and the needs of the drug control situation, the funds allocated for such purpose are expected to increase every year. In 1998, the China Narcotics Control Foundation was set up, with the approval of the State Council, aiming at collecting funds from society at large to support drug control work.