Police training offered to enhance intl cooperation

China will offer training to 3,000 law enforcement officials from various countries in the coming year, part of the country’s efforts to strengthen international cooperation to tackle global security challenges, a senior law enforcement official said.

State Councilor and Minister of Public Security Wang Xiaohong made the announcement at the 2024 Conference of Global Public Security Cooperation Forum, which opened in Lianyungang, Jiangsu province, on Monday.

China will also send police consultants and working units to countries in need to help them improve their law enforcement capacity, conduct joint patrols and investigations, and tackle cross-border crimes, Wang said.

He also pledged China’s continued financial, capacity and data support to Interpol, as well as Chinese police officers’ active participation in the United Nations’ peace-keeping operations.

As the world faces increased insecurity and uncertainty, China hopes to work with all other countries to deepen exchanges and cooperation, and promote a global public security governance system that is more fair, reasonable and efficient, Wang also said.

The Global Public Security Cooperation Forum is the result of the evolution of a regional security forum initiated by the Ministry of Public Security in 2015.

The 2024 Conference, the third of its kind, comprises a series of events. Besides Monday’s main session in Lianyungang, there are other sub-forums being held in the city and in two others, covering tourist security, police education, law enforcement capacity building and other topics.

The events have attracted more than 2,100 people from 122 countries, regions and international organizations.

This year’s conference aims to boost international collaboration on public security in a world of significant changes, a theme echoed by international participants.

Ahmed Naser Al Raisi, president of Interpol, called for leveraging collective strength to combat transnational crimes.

“Our capabilities and resources must come together to create a safer world. … No country can operate alone in today’s complex criminal landscape,” he said.

Al Raisi stressed the contribution China has made in this regard, saying the country “has played a key role in supporting Interpol’s mission”.

Al Raisi expressed his appreciation for China’s support of Interpol’s Operation First Light 2024, a global policing initiative targeting online scam networks that has frozen more than 6,700 bank accounts and seized assets worth $257 million.

Participants also spoke highly of the Global Security Initiative China proposed in 2022.

Malaysian Deputy Prime Minister Ahmad Zahid said the initiative has paved the way for enhanced cooperation among nations and a strengthened global security network.

Ivica Dacic, Serbia’s deputy prime minister and minister of the interior, said his country has actively promoted the principles of the initiative.

Serbia recently dispatched six police officers on a one-month-long joint patrol in the provinces such as Hainan and Zhejiang. Unarmed, the Serbian police officers will assist their Chinese counterparts to address the security needs of Serbian nationals in China.

“In a tumultuous world, Serbia chooses firmly to strengthen cooperation with old friends such as China,” Dacic said.

The forum has yielded rich deliverables, said Andy Tsang Wai-hung, president of the forum, adding that among them is a report on the global public security index, which will be further refined before it is “released in due course”.

The report was compiled to reflect the current global public security situation and forecast related risks and hazards, Tsang said.

Wang, the minister of public security, said China will support the forum in publishing the index on a regular basis.