Law enforcement authorities in the United States and China are working closely to combat terrorism and international crime, a senior US official said yesterday.

The US Federal Bureau of Investigation's Legal Attache Office in Beijing, formally opened in 2002 at the US Embassy in China, has bolstered cooperation on law enforcement and counterterrorism investigations, said Thomas Fuentes, assistant director of the FBI's Office of International Operations.

"China has provided substantive intelligence in some counterterrorism cases.

We have a number of mutual law-enforcement concerns ranging from cyber crime to human smuggling," he said.

The two countries have vowed to strengthen collaboration in law enforcement, as well as work jointly to fight terrorism and international crime.

As Beijing prepares to host the 2008 Olympics, the FBI is offering "every possible assistance" such as information sharing or other technical matters, he said.

"There are tremendous issues of security as to who is entering the country and what backgrounds they may have, whether they intend violence at the Olympic Games for any variety of reasons," said Fuentes.

Fuentes, in Beijing to attend a regularly scheduled dialogue with his Chinese counterparts, said the FBI is holding talks with Chinese authorities to determine what capabilities the US agency will be able to offer.

Source: China Daily