59 pages • 1 hour read
Peter SchweizerBlood Money: Why the Powerful Turn a Blind Eye While China Kills Americans
Fiction | Novel | Adult | Published in 2011A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Part 1, Chapters 1-3Chapter Summaries & Analyses
Part 1, Chapter 1 Summary: “The New Opium Wars”
Chapter 1 begins with a discussion of President Joe Biden’s November 2022 meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping in Bali, Indonesia. Schweizer accuses Biden of not including the fentanyl crisis on the discussion agenda. Fentanyl is a synthetic opioid largely produced using Chinese precursor chemicals. Schweizer claims that fentanyl is not just a drug epidemic but part of China’s larger strategy of warfare against the US, where unconventional methods—such as drug trafficking—are used to undermine the US without open conflict. Fentanyl, now the leading cause of death for Americans under 45, is described as a weapon of mass destruction deployed by China to create chaos and social instability.
Schweizer sketches China’s involvement in the fentanyl crisis, which allegedly involves producing precursor chemicals and facilitating its smuggling into the US. He draws parallels to the 19th-century Opium Wars, suggesting that Beijing is retaliating for historical grievances by using fentanyl as a modern weapon. Schweizer argues that, starting in the early 1950s, the CCP deliberately exported heroin to Japan and later to the US, thus seeking to weaponize narcotics and weaken enemy nations. As evidence, Schweizer cites the admission of Chinese leaders, such as Chou En-lai, to using heroin during the Vietnam War to undermine US troops’ morale. Throughout the 1960s and 1970s, the CCP continued to flood US markets with heroin, allegedly demonstrating a calculated effort to use drugs as a tool of warfare. Generally, Schweizer argues that China’s long history of using drugs as a weapon foreshadows its current role in the deadly US fentanyl crisis.
Schweizer recounts that in the early 1970s, New York City detectives uncovered a “Chinese connection” in the heroin trade, leading to arrests and revealing direct links to mainland China. Authorities, including prosecutor Frank Rogers and Brooklyn DA Eugene Gold, confirmed China’s role in smuggling drugs into the US. Schweizer blames the US administration in Washington of shifting focus toward improving relations with China rather than addressing the alleged aggression, especially under the Nixon administration.
Part 1, Chapter 2 Summary: “China’s Foot Soldiers”
Chapter 2 discusses the allegation that the CCP forged an alliance with Chinese organized crime groups (called “triads”) in 1982. Consequently, Schweizer thinks that drug trafficking from China to the US was facilitated, which China benefited from financially and politically because it weakened their global rival—the US. Schweizer claims that Deng Xiaoping, the leader of the People’s Republic of China (PRC) from 1978 until 1989, met with Hong Kong tycoons Li Ka-shing and Henry Fok, both linked to the triads, to consolidate the government’s relationship with them. Schweizer blames the US administration, at the time under the presidency of George H. W. Bush, of overlooking China’s involvement in the drug trade.
Further on, Schweizer claims that the CCP formed connections with triad organizations in Fujian province, where Xi Jinping spent 17 years as a rising political figure. During his tenure as governor of the province, triads operated openly, with protection from local Communist leaders, according to Schweizer. He further contends that Fujian-based gangs expanded their reach globally, smuggling drugs into the US, while Chinese law enforcement rarely cooperated with American authorities. Triads, intertwined with state interests, even took ownership in infrastructure like Fujian’s airport and the government’s sovereign wealth fund, Schweizer claims. Schweizer faults figures like John Kerry and Bill Clinton, who were seemingly aware of China’s criminal ties but, due to geopolitical and economic incentives, did not respond strongly to the threat, thus enabling the CCP’s drug-trafficking operations to persist.
Schweizer alleges that, by the early 2000s, Chinese triads shifted from trafficking heroin to synthetic drugs like methamphetamines and fentanyl, which proved more profitable and dangerous. Despite promises to control drug production, Chinese authorities, including military entities, were involved in the production and global trafficking of these drugs. Apparently, the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) controlled significant drug manufacturing, and by the 2010s, fentanyl started flooding the US market. Schweizer claims that Chinese companies openly sold fentanyl online, often shipping it to the US through parcel services. He also argues that, despite China’s strict surveillance and control measures, authorities failed to act on fentanyl trafficking, which he interprets as proof of complicity. Then, Schweizer alleges that, as US law enforcement improved detection, Chinese exporters adapted to the situation by shipping fentanyl through intermediary countries, like Mexico.
Schweizer claims that gradually, Chinese triads established ties with Mexican drug cartels, helping them mix fentanyl with heroin. The Sinaloa Cartel, led by “El Chapo,” a notorious Mexican drug lord, transitioned to fentanyl production due to its profitability. Fentanyl precursors, largely produced in China, were shipped to Mexico’s ports like Manzanillo, a key entry point for these chemicals. According to Schweizer, Chinese companies, including state-owned ones, played a major role in supplying these precursors, with several identified as key providers for cartels like the Sinaloa Cartel and the Jalisco New Generation Cartel. For example, Schweizer claims that Hutchison, a Chinese-controlled company, operated terminals at Mexican ports, facilitating the movement of fentanyl and arms. Additionally, Chinese nationals in northern Mexico managed the import of ingredients needed for fentanyl production, while Chinese companies supplied pill presses used to manufacture counterfeit drugs.
Schweizer further alleges that China’s involvement in the US fentanyl crisis extends beyond weak law enforcement. He cites counterintelligence official Frank Montoya Jr., who stated that Chinese organized crime and the Chinese state are interconnected, similar to Russia’s fusion of organized crime and government. Schweizer claims that the Zheng drug syndicate, based in China, was involved in distributing fentanyl in the US, despite indictments by the Department of Justice. Schweizer exemplifies his claims through another figure, Bin Wang, who operated from Massachusetts, disguising his illegal activities with legitimate businesses. Wang, who has links to the CCP, apparently also worked on a platform to track chemical shipments for Beijing. According to Schweizer, Chinese banks and companies played a crucial role in laundering cartel money through state-controlled institutions, while Chinese tech firms like WeChat facilitated secure communication for criminals.
Part 1, Chapter 3 Summary: “Willful Blindness”
In Chapter 3, Schweizer contends that the US government’s response to the fentanyl crisis was much weaker than the country’s response to the Pearl Harbor attack in 1941. Allegedly, Barack Obama’s approach to China was marked by a diplomatic and cooperative stance, despite mounting evidence that China played a central role in the fentanyl epidemic. Under Obama’s administration, sanctions were lifted from countries like Burma, where drug trades involving China flourished. Supposedly, financial ties between Washington elites and China complicated the situation. According to Schweizer, despite warnings from healthcare and the Drug Enforcement Association (DEA), Obama failed to confront Beijing about its role in fentanyl production. Attempts at cooperation with China, including a 2016 agreement to curb fentanyl-related exports, proved ineffective. Even during Donald Trump’s tenure, efforts to address the crisis with China yielded limited results, as fentanyl precursors continued to flood into the US from Chinese sources, exacerbating the deadly opioid epidemic.
Schweizer states that the fentanyl crisis has severely impacted even affluent areas like Burbank, California, where several high-school students overdosed. However, he notes, despite the alarming rise in fentanyl deaths in Los Angeles, Congressman Adam Schiff has remained largely silent on the issue. Schiff’s district, which includes Hollywood and Burbank, has been a hub for organized crime, according to Schweizer, with Armenian gangs driving the drug trafficking and money laundering activities. Schweizer claims that Schiff has financial ties to entities linked to money laundering networks, such as Allied Wallet, which is a partner of the Chinese company UnionPay. While outspoken on other public health crises like monkeypox and Ebola, Schiff has avoided addressing the fentanyl epidemic, possibly due to concerns over his financial connections to China. Schweizer believes that his reluctance to challenge China mirrors the approach of other prominent figures in Congress, like Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, who also avoid the topic, all due to the alleged connections the politicians have with China.
Further on, Schweizer contrasts Joe Biden’s past and present approaches to China’s involvement in drug trafficking. For example, in 1992 when Biden was a senator, he openly criticized China’s involvement in the heroin trade. However, during the deadly fentanyl crisis, Schweizer believes he softened his stance, claiming that, despite promises during his 2020 presidential campaign to prioritize fentanyl in dealings with China, Biden has not confronted Chinese leadership about the issue. His administration has taken limited steps in the matter, while Secretary of State Antony Blinken downplayed China’s role in fentanyl production. Schweizer suggests that there are financial ties between the Biden family (particularly Joe Biden’s son, Hunter Biden) and Chinese businessmen, including those linked to criminal networks like the United Bamboo Gang, involved in fentanyl trafficking.
Schweizer blames China for framing the fentanyl crisis as an issue of American demand rather than an international supply chain originating from Chinese factories. Schweizer accuses Kentucky senator Mitch McConnell of being passive in holding China accountable due to his family’s financial ties to Chinese interests, despite his state being heavily affected by the fentanyl crisis. Allegedly, McConnell’s family shipping business, Foremost Group, relies on China’s favor for operations, which may explain his reluctance to confront Beijing.
Similarly, California governor Gavin Newsom, whose state has seen fentanyl deaths soar in the past eight years, has also allegedly avoided confronting China. Schweizer claims that Newsom has a history of shielding China, dating back to his 2008 handling of the Beijing Olympic torch relay and his promotion of ChinaSF, an initiative fostering business ties with Chinese entities, some supposedly with ties to organized crime. His financial and political ties to China, including support from Chinese nationals with triad connections, may explain, according to Schweizer, the governor’s reluctance to address China’s role in the fentanyl crisis.
Part 1, Chapters 1-3 Analysis
Chapters 1 to 3 introduce several major claims, presented as factual, that reinforce the connection between the book’s thematic interest in Covert Manipulation and Disinformation Campaigns and the utilization of those tactics by Schweizer. His argument is designed to frame the Chinese government as engaging in deliberate, covert warfare against the United States through narcotics, drawing upon historical parallels, organized crime associations, and alleged political complicity to create a narrative.
Schweizer focuses these chapters on China’s strategic weaponization of drugs—particularly fentanyl—as part of a broader strategy of unconventional warfare against the US, emphasizing the book’s thematic interest in The Interconnection of Organized Crime and State Interests. Schweizer claims that the CCP has a long history of weaponizing narcotics, dating back to the 1950s, and posits the modern fentanyl crisis as an extension of this tactic. By framing the fentanyl epidemic as a form of state-sponsored warfare, Schweizer employs an appeal to fear (argumentum ad metum), utilizing collective anxiety regarding foreign influence and subversion.
Schweizer’s argument contextualizes the fentanyl crisis as part of a larger geopolitical struggle, not just a public health issue. The comparison to the Opium Wars, a period when the British used narcotics to destabilize China, is rhetorically effective, suggesting that China is now seeking revenge through a similar strategy. However, unlike the Opium Wars, where narcotics were overtly used as a tool of imperial domination, Schweizer provides little concrete evidence to support the claim that China is intentionally using fentanyl as a weapon of mass destruction against the US. While China’s role in the production of fentanyl precursors is well-documented, Schweizer presents no solid proof connecting this involvement to a deliberate state-sponsored strategy to weaken the United States.
Schweizer’s argument relies on historical anecdotes, such as the use of heroin during the Vietnam War, to substantiate his claims about China’s current behavior. However, because he fails to establish a clear link between China’s actions in the mid-20th century and the contemporary fentanyl crisis, the historical references are insufficient to prove his claims. The suggestion that the CCP has been using drugs as a weapon for decades oversimplifies a complex contemporary social and economic issue, which is not, in fact, specific to the US. Schweizer fails to acknowledge the significant economic and political changes that have taken place in China since the 1950s. In doing so, Schweizer’s argument falls under the definition of conspiracy theory rather than well-reasoned analysis supported by factual evidence.
Schweizer continues to emphasize the interconnection of organized crime with state interests by drawing on the image of shadowy criminal networks (the triads), playing into a broader narrative of Chinese corruption and moral decay. Schweizer presents some substantial data about the fact that China represents one of the main sources of fentanyl precursors, but his conclusion departs from the particular evidence and falls into vague generalizations, such as: “The [Chinese Communist] party operates in organized crime-type fashion. There are parallels to Russia, where organized crime has been co-opted by the Russian government and Putin’s security services” (26-27). Thus, the particularity of the situation is transformed into a general narrative about China as a rogue state, preying on its victim, the US, a fallacy of inductive reasoning. Schweizer’s allusion to Russia fails as an accurate analog for China as the two countries have radically different approaches to international diplomacy, conflict, trade, human rights, and even organized crime.
In Chapter 3, Schweizer shifts his focus to American political leaders, whom he accuses of willful blindness in addressing China’s role in the fentanyl crisis. Schweizer critiques several prominent US politicians, including Barack Obama, Joe Biden, and Mitch McConnell, for allegedly failing to confront Beijing due to personal or financial ties to Chinese interests. While Schweizer’s critique of US policy toward China raises valid areas of concern more broadly, it fails to support its specific assignments of blame as many administrations—both Republican and Democratic—have struggled to balance economic interests with national security concerns.
Without direct evidence, Schweizer’s insinuation that political leaders like Biden and McConnell are deliberately ignoring the fentanyl crisis due to personal financial interests remains speculative. Without substantiating these claims through research or authoritative sources, Schweizer’s reliance on unverified allegations, particularly concerning Hunter Biden who has never held political office, undermines the credibility of his broader critique. Schweizer’s claims about Hunter Biden mirror those made by Donald Trump about Biden’s son—claims repeated on other occasions by members of the Republican Party that have been proven baseless or lacking in context and nuance.
Throughout the book, Schweizer uses the tactic of character assassination to undermine President Biden’s credibility as a leader by suggesting that his personal and familial connections to China prevent him from acting in the best interest of the American people. By focusing on Hunter Biden’s controversial business dealings, Schweizer stokes public distrust and fuels conspiracy theories, creating a narrative that positions the Biden family as complicit in China’s supposedly belligerent strategies. This approach deflects attention from the complexities of the fentanyl crisis and simplifies the issue into a matter of personal corruption, fitting neatly into a broader strategy of covert manipulation and disinformation that relies on undermining trust in public figures.
Furthermore, in Chapter 3, Schweizer uses a false analogy between the fentanyl crisis and the Pearl Harbor attack to support his theory regarding China’s alleged belligerent activity:
When Japanese planes bombed Pearl Harbor, FDR responded quickly, speaking to the nation within twenty-four hours and declaring it a ‘day of infamy.’ He squarely blamed the attacker. China’s attacks through fentanyl are deadly but deceptive, and our leaders remain largely silent. When deaths from fentanyl are mentioned, they frame them as evidence of a drug crisis, not a foreign attack (32).
To underscore the perceived Erosion of American Values Through Foreign Interference, Schweizer presents a flawed comparison of two events, both with devastating consequences yet fundamentally different in nature. Pearl Harbor was a military attack by a foreign state, while the fentanyl crisis is a complex public health issue involving a variety of actors, including non-state entities. By equating the two, Schweizer simplifies the multifaceted nature of the opioid epidemic and detracts from the real challenges of addressing it.
