Friday, Dec 07, 2001
China may allow FBI agents in Beijing
BEIJING, DEC. 6. China may allow the United States to post FBI agents in Beijing to bolster Sino-U.S. cooperation in the war against terror, a U.S. envoy said today. ``The Chinese Government has agreed to give positive consideration to the establishment of a legal attache office in our Beijing embassy,'' the U.S. State Department special envoy for counter-terrorism, General Francis Taylor, told a news conference in Beijing. ``We anticipate posting FBI personnel to that office if approved, which will greatly improve the efficiency of our law enforcement cooperation,'' Gen. Taylor said after two days of counter-terrorism talks with Chinese officials. He said the attache office would be similar to FBI offices set up in other countries, including Hungary and Hong Kong, and would facilitate information sharing and following leads in investigations. ``It's a very important part of our campaign'' on terror, he said, adding that he was ``optimistic that the request would be approved''. China and the U.S. also agreed to set up a financial counter-terrorism working group and Chinese experts would visit the U.S. in early 2002, Gen. Taylor said. ``The group would be there to help China learn effective ways to identify and disrupt financial flows linked to terrorist groups,'' he said. The U.S. and China also decided to hold formal counter-terrorism talks twice a year, he said. China has backed the U.S. war on terror launched in the wake of the Sept. 11 attacks. - Reuters
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