Visiting Chinese State Councilor and Minister of Public Security Zhou Yongkang, ending a four-day visit to the United States on Saturday, has called for enhanced cooperation between the two countries in law enforcement when meeting top U.S. officials.

During his stay in Washington, Zhou held separate talks with U.S. Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales, Secretary of Homeland Security Michael Chertoff and Secretary of Treasury Henry M. Paulson.

China and the U.S. should always handle the bilateral relationship from a strategic height and a long-term perspective, bearing in mind their common interests and respecting each other's concerns, Zhou told the U.S. officials.

The two countries should enhance dialogue and cooperation so as to push forward the development of constructive cooperative relations between them in an all-round way, said Zhou, who began his visit on Wednesday.

China-U.S. cooperation in security and law enforcement has deepened steadily in recent years, Zhou said, adding that enhanced cooperation in the areas not only conforms to the common strategic interests of the two countries, but is also conducive to peace, stability and development in the region and the world as a whole.

The U.S. and China share important common interests in security and law enforcement, U.S. officials said, noting that U.S.-China cooperation in the areas is an indispensable component of the whole bilateral relationship.

The U.S. government highly values the country's cooperation with China in security and law enforcement, they said, voicing satisfaction over the steady development of U.S.-China cooperation in the areas.

The U.S. government appreciates China's active efforts in this regard and is looking forward to a deepening and further expansion of such cooperation with China, the officials said.

At the talks, the two sides agreed to measures to promote exchanges of law enforcement personnel, improve the consultation mechanisms between the countries, establish hot-line contacts between the two countries' departments concerned and ensure timely sharing of information.

They also vowed to strengthen bilateral cooperation in man-hunting and repatriating criminal suspects and in the fight against terrorism, cross-border crimes, drug trafficking, money-laundering, cyber crime and intelligence property infringement.

Source: Xinhua