China has prohibited all fentanyl-like substances for non-medical use in a move long sought by the US as the two sides seek common ground after a year of trade frictions.

Abuse of fentanyl and similar drugs has swept the US in recent years as people addicted to prescription opioids turned to illicit drugs. The epidemic was concentrated in the majority-white suburban and rural areas that swept Donald Trump into the White House, making addressing the manufacture of the drugs in China a priority for his administration. 

Mr Trump in December hailed a promise by Chinese president Xi Jinping to act against the production of fentanyl and other synthetic opioids, blamed for the fatal overdoses of 49,000 people across the US in 2017 alone. In the past month, US officials in China have hailed progress in staunching the flow of fentanyl as a sign of progress in trade talks between the two nations.