China, US security chiefs agree to keep talking on anti-narcotics cooperation

China's public security minister Wang Xiaohong and US Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas agreed in a video call on Thursday to maintain their communications on anti-narcotics and law enforcement cooperation.

According to state news agency Xinhua, Wang said that both sides should "continue to deepen cooperation" on drug control, repatriation of illegal immigrants and combating transnational crime.

Wang also said the two countries should "promote law enforcement cooperation to achieve more practical results," the Xinhua report said.

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"The United States should attach great importance to China's concerns, demonstrate its sincerity with practical actions, and inject positive energy into bilateral cooperation."

China and the US have ramped up talks on law enforcement cooperation since Xi Jinping and Joe Biden's November summit in San Francisco where the two leaders agreed to promote cooperation and manage tensions in a range of fields.

The summit included an agreement to form an anti-narcotics working group to tackle fentanyl, the No 1 killer of Americans aged between 18 and 45. China also agreed to curtail shipments of chemicals that can be used to make the drug, after long complaints from the US that China's lack of action has helped to fuel the crisis.

Wang headed the first anti-narcotics working group meeting in Beijing in January and also met Mayorkas in Austria for further talks in February.

When US Secretary of State Antony Blinken visited China in April, he thanked the country for the "important progress" in its efforts to help the US curb fentanyl.

These included putting industry on notice, taking enforcement action against companies that produce precursors, and providing information to help international law enforcement to track and intercept illicit drugs and their precursors.

In his meeting with Blinken, Wang called on the US to stop the "harassment" of Chinese students at the US border. Many have been barred from entry after long interrogations by immigration officials, which the US said were necessary for national security reasons.

An image from the video call between Wang Xiaohong, China's public security minister, and US Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas on Thursday. Photo: Xinhua alt=An image from the video call between Wang Xiaohong, China's public security minister, and US Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas on Thursday. Photo: Xinhua>

Biden has recently tightened immigration policy as the presidential election nears, while there has also been a surge in illegal Chinese immigrants attempting to enter the US from Mexico.

In an interview with NBC in April, ahead of his latest meeting with Wang, Mayorkas said the US was in high-level discussions with China to deport more illegal immigrants, an issue he also raised during their February talks.

The Associated Press reported last month that US border officials arrested more than 37,000 Chinese nationals on the southern border in 2023, 10 times more than the previous year.

According to the report, China agreed to work with the US on the illegal immigration issue, including accepting deportation flights. One flight carrying Chinese nationals reportedly landed in the country in March.

This article originally appeared in the South China Morning Post (SCMP), the most authoritative voice reporting on China and Asia for more than a century. For more SCMP stories, please explore the SCMP app or visit the SCMP's Facebook and Twitter pages. Copyright © 2024 South China Morning Post Publishers Ltd. All rights reserved.

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