China will help to train 3,000 foreign law enforcement officials over the next year to tackle global security issues and better protect Chinese interests beyond its borders, reports the South China Morning Post (SCMP).
Chinese Minister of Public Security Wang Xiaohong Wang Xiaohong spoke about helping law enforcement in other countries at a global public security conference in China on Monday (September 9).
China will also send police consultants and working units to countries to help improve law enforcement, conduct joint patrols and investigations, and tackle cross-border crime, Wang said.
Beijing is trying to extend its presence beyond its borders to protect overseas interests while offering an alternative to Western-led global security governance, says the SCMP.
Police from China trained 2,700 officers from other countries in the past year, said Wang.
He was speaking at the opening of the 2024 Conference of the Global Public Security Cooperation Forum in Lianyungang, in eastern China’s Jiangsu province.
Effort to be global security leader
The forum is part of China’s effort to become a global security leader, says the Guardian.
On Monday, Wang met security officials from Malaysia, Myanmar, Zambia, Nicaragua and Russia.
He told them that China was willing to cooperate in the fight against telecom fraud, drug trafficking and other cross-border crimes, according to the state news agency Xinhua.
Wang also pledged China’s continued support to Interpol, as well as Chinese police officers’ active participation in the United Nations’ peace-keeping operations, reported the China Daily.
Ahmed Naser Al Raisi, president of Interpol, said China “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 against 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 to “improve global security governance … and promote durable peace”.
Malaysian Deputy Prime Minister Ahmad Zahid said the initiative has paved the way for enhanced cooperation among nations and a strengthened global security network.