Chinese State Councilor Zhou Yongkang held talks with US Attorney General Alberto Gonzales Friday in Beijing and the two agreed to further cooperation on law enforcement.

"Cooperation between the Chinese and US law enforcement departments is an important component part of China-US relations," said Zhou, who is also Minister of Public Security.

Zhou said the two countries have made substantial progress apprehending and extraditing suspects, fighting terrorism and drug trafficking over the past two years.

"Cooperation between the two law enforcement agencies has become a highlight of China-US bilateral relations," Zhou said.

Zhou said such cooperation is in the interests of both sides and highlighted by frequent contact and guaranteed by mutual trust.

He called for the two sides to pursue further cooperation and promote China-US ties.

Gonzales agreed that cooperation between the two countries' law enforcement agencies is extremely important.

He said the Untied States is ready to further cooperate with China in anti-terrorism, intellectual property protection, information exchange and training of security personnel.

He said he hopes the two countries would improve communication and consultation and make full use of existing lines of communications between the two law enforcement agencies to bring such cooperation to a new level.

After the talks, Gonzales also met with Luo Gan, a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee.

The US attorney general's visit in Beijing was at the invitation of China's Ministry of Public Security.

Source: Xinhua