Chinese and Russian police chiefs meet as Beijing casts wider law enforcement net

China's public security chief met his Russian counterpart earlier this week in a sign Beijing is extending its law enforcement net to neighbouring countries, observers said.

Chinese Minister of Public Security Wang Xiaohong met Russian Minister of Internal Affairs Vladimir Kolokoltsev on Tuesday in Beijing, state-run news agency Xinhua reported. Wang is also a state councillor - a senior ranking in China's cabinet.

The meeting between Wang and Kolokoltsev came about two months after Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi met Nikolai Patrushev, head of Russia's Security Council, in Moscow.

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At that meeting, Wang Yi said China and Russia would work closely on strategic security cooperation, defend true multilateralism and promote the development of the global governance system in a fairer and more reasonable direction.

At Tuesday's meeting, public security chief Wang said China was ready to work with Russia to implement the important consensus reached by the two heads of state and strengthen practical cooperation in areas such as fighting transnational crime, cybersecurity, drug control and law enforcement capacity building, Xinhua reported.

Xinhua said Kolokoltsev expressed willingness to deepen bilateral exchanges and cooperation to safeguard the security and stability of the two countries.

According to the Russian internal affairs ministry, Kolokoltsev said despite the turbulent geopolitical situation and unprecedented pressure from Western sanctions, ties between Russia and China were becoming stronger and more reliable.

Wang presented Kolokoltsev with the Great Wall of China medal for his work on cooperation between the two agencies, according to the Russian statement.

The award is given to foreign dignitaries who make significant contributions to security collaborations.

The Russian minister complained about Western countries' attempts to restrict Moscow from using Interpol's information channels to search for criminals.

He said the international police organisation put in place a special regime to process requests from Russia, causing delays when posting information about wanted persons in the databases of the Interpol General Secretariat.

He thanked China for assisting in obtaining information relevant to the investigation of criminal cases through Interpol channels and praised the effectiveness of the cooperation efforts.

He noted Russia and China had gained experience in fighting extremism and terrorist threats, and proposed further bilateral cooperation as well as cooperation under multilateral frameworks such as the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation and Brics.

The ministers also discussed migration issues and expressed their intention to intensify cooperation in this area.

Next year marks the 75th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties between China and Russia.

Beijing and Moscow agreed to deepen their military and security cooperation during President Xi Jinping's visit to Russia in March.

The two sides agreed to hold annual meetings between the ministers of public security and internal affairs to strengthen cooperation in law enforcement - a move aimed at preventing colour revolutions and combating transnational organised crime, economic crimes, drug trafficking and extremist groups including the East Turkestan Islamic Movement.

Deng Yuwen, a former deputy editor of the Study Times, the official newspaper of the Communist Party's top cadre training school, said the meeting between Chinese and Russian police chiefs showed Beijing had been accelerating its security and law enforcement cooperation with neighbours since Xi launched his Global Security Initiative last year.

"Just look at how many security talks China has engaged in with its neighbours in recent months," he said.

"Wang Yi and Wang Xiaohong have been busy talking to Russia, Cambodia, Myanmar, Singapore, Thailand and others, urging these friendly neighbours to assist Beijing in its crackdown on cross-border crime, especially telecoms scams, a crime many Chinese fall victim to."

The Blagoveshchensk-Heihe Bridge across the Amur River connecting Russia with China is seen in Heihe, Heilongjiang province, China. File photo: Bloomberg alt=The Blagoveshchensk-Heihe Bridge across the Amur River connecting Russia with China is seen in Heihe, Heilongjiang province, China. File photo: Bloomberg>

A Tsinghua University security researcher concurred. "Beijing is trying to build an extended security and law enforcement alliance with countries that are friendly with China.

"That way, China can better extradite those who have committed crimes in China or harmed Chinese citizens," said the researcher, who asked to remain anonymous because he was not authorised to speak to overseas media.

Following the Lancang-Mekong Cooperation Foreign Ministers' Meeting in Beijing on Thursday, top diplomat Wang Yi called for a safe environment for the development of countries in the Lancang-Mekong basin - a grouping that includes China, Thailand, Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and Vietnam.

He also called for a crackdown on cross-border crime in the region, especially phone fraud and online gambling.

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 © 2023 South China Morning Post Publishers Ltd. All rights reserved.

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