FBI Office Opened in US Embassy in Beijing

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Friday, October 25, 2002

FBI Office Opened in US Embassy in Beijing

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China hopes and believes the opening of a Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) office in China will be conducive to exchanges and cooperation in counter-terrorism and law enforcement between China and the United States, a Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman said here Thursday.

In response to a request for comment at a regular press conference, spokesman Liu Jianchao said China and the United States reached an agreement in February this year on the establishment of a temporary FBI office in the US Embassy in China. China reserves the right to set up a corresponding institution in the United States, Liu said.

This is a positive action taken by the two sides in law enforcement cooperation, while proceeding from the overall situation of Sino-US counter-terror cooperation, he said.

China hopes and believes the establishment of the FBI office in China will be conducive to exchanges and cooperation in counter-terrorism, law enforcement and other areas between the two countries on the basis of reciprocity and mutual benefit, Liu said.

Liu said the two sides agreed in February that the FBI could set up a temporary office in the US embassy in Beijing and China holds the right to establish a corresponding institution in the United States.

Noting that China has always opposed terrorism in any form and actively participated in international counter-terrorism co-operation, Liu said China and the United States have established a middle and long-term mechanism on counter-terrorism exchanges and co-operation according to the consensus reached by the heads of the two countries.

Both sides agreed that their co-operation is an integral part of international counter-terrorism efforts and an important part of constructive Sino-US co-operation, Liu said.

Last month, the United States put the East Turkistan Islamic Movement (ETIM) on its list of terrorist organizations.

The group has masterminded a string of violent terrorist activities during the past two decades in the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region and some other places in mid-Asia.

The two countries have conducted two rounds of consultations, in December and June respectively.

The third round of consultations is expected soon, Liu said without specifying the exact date.

The spokesman also revealed that China's special envoy to the Middle East, Wang Shijie, is expected to visit the strife-torn region early next month.

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