China-U.S. dialogue to bear fruit

Trump visit, cross-border cases, cybersecurity are topics of talks

With senior officials concluding the first round of the China-U.S. Law Enforcement and Cybersecurity Dialogue on Wednesday, the two countries are bolstering global confidence in the fight against transnational and cyberspace crime, senior experts said.

Both Beijing and Washington have displayed strong wills by introducing more tangible outcomes through cooperation in these areas to prepare for U.S. President Donald Trump's state visit to China next month and to make the overall China-U.S. relationship healthier, analysts added.

Wednesday's dialogue in Washington was co-chaired by visiting State Councilor and Minister of Public Security Guo Shengkun and U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions and acting secretary for Homeland Security Elaine Duke.

The two sides reached "a wide range" of consensus on counterterrorism, fighting narcotics, cybersecurity and immigration, according to an official release from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

The dialogue is one of four high-level dialogues agreed to during a meeting between President Xi Jinping and Trump in April.

The other three dialogues cover diplomatic and security issues; the economy; and social and cultural issues.

Fu Xingchao, director of the Ministry of Public Security's American and Oceania Affairs International Cooperation Department, said the latest dialogue marks "a key step" for realizing the consensus reached by Xi and Trump as both sides prepare for Trump's visit.

Attendance of the two senior U.S. officials at the high-level dialogue amid the U.S. nationwide grief over the mass shooting in Las Vegas "underlines the great importance attached by Washington to reinforced cooperation on transnational and cybercrimes with Beijing", Fu said.

China and the U.S. are two major countries and it is their shared duty to navigate multilateral cooperation in these areas by coordinating their stances, as they have discussed during Wednesday's dialogue, Fu noted.

Jin Bo, professor and chief scientist with the Third Research Institute of the Ministry of Public Security, noted that cyberspace crimes have accounted for about one-third of all crimes in China, and it is difficult for law-enforcement from various countries to work on transnational and cybercrime cases.

China and the U.S. each are major players in cyberspace, so the increasing number of cyberspace crimes poses a common threat, Jin said. Further, both countries share an interest in cracking down such cases, Jin added.

Trump will visit China in November, and senior U.S. diplomats have spoken positively about the global influence of sound China-U.S. ties.

In a statement last week, U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said in a release: "Now more than ever, a strong, constructive relationship between the United States and China is important for the prosperity and stability of our two countries, as well as the world."

Fu said the latest dialogue helped set the stage for positive outcomes from the upcoming meeting in Beijing, and the two sides also worked on managing disagreements.

"Although the two countries have differing definitions or positions regarding some specific issues, it will be unaffordable to both countries and also to the world if their two-way disagreements lead to a major conflict," Fu said.