Fighting transnational crime opens space for China-US cooperation

China and the United States have stepped up law enforcement cooperation in recent months, with joint operations targeting transnational drug trafficking and other cross-border crimes, even as the two countries continue to face significant competition in other areas.

Earlier this month, China's Ministry of Public Security (MPS) and the US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) jointly cracked a transnational case involving the trafficking and manufacture of synthetic cannabinoid precursors.

According to a media report, the US side provided key leads, while Chinese authorities carried out the arrests.

In May, the MPS and the US Attorney's Office for the Southern District of Florida separately announced the resolution of a transnational drug trafficking case.

The operation led to the arrest of five suspects – two Chinese nationals and three US nationals – and the seizure of drugs including protonitazene and bromazolam, disrupting a trafficking route spanning the two countries.

Following his visit to Beijing in late July, FBI Director Kash Patel said exchanges between China and the United States on combating crime had become unprecedentedly frequent this year.

"Every month, they send their working-level MPS officers here, and the following month we go there," Patel said in an interview.

"They are speaking with us daily, which has also never happened before." Patel said China and the United States had strengthened cooperation against transnational crimes, including fentanyl trafficking, cyber fraud and child sexual exploitation.

The partnerships have involved personnel exchanges, joint investigations and intelligence sharing.

Practical cooperation delivers results In July, China's Ministry of Public Security said law enforcement agencies from both countries had carried out a series of practical cooperation initiatives since the beginning of the year, achieving tangible results in counternarcotics, combating telecom and online fraud, and repatriating fugitives.

The ministry cited several cases.

In May, Chinese, US and UAE law enforcement agencies jointly targeted telecom and online fraud operations in Dubai, dismantling nine scam centers and arresting 276 suspects.

In another case, Chinese authorities repatriated to the United States a US national accused of serious violent crimes.

Experts say counternarcotics is a priority for the Trump administration, and China and the United States share common interests in it and other transnational crimes.