Leading Chinese security official makes debut visit to Germany

By Esra Tekin

ISTANBUL (AA) — Beijing has for the first time sent a top security representative to Germany, affirming its commitment to enhanced collaboration with Berlin, Chinese media reported on Thursday.

China has "always attached great importance to and actively supported law enforcement and security cooperation" with Germany, said Chen Wenqing, who heads the Communist Party of China's leading body on national security and intelligence, the Central Political and Legal Affairs Commission, on Wednesday, according to the English-language daily South China Morning Post.

Chen, also a member of the country's politburo, was co-leading a delegation at the China-Germany high-level security dialogue in Berlin, highlighting at the event's opening ceremony that the discussions had "contributed to the maintenance of common security interests."

"Focus should be placed on addressing real threats, paying attention to potential risks, and promoting cooperation and innovative development, ... it is important to promote mutual trust and clarity to inject stability and certainty into the development of China-Germany relations," he was quoted as saying.

The Chinese side was also co-led by Yin Bai, the commission's secretary general, with representatives from the Germany's Chancellery attending on the other side.

Officials from several Chinese ministries, including foreign affairs, industry and information technology, public security, state security, and justice, along with the People's Bank of China, had extensive discussions with their German counterparts, reportedly reaching "consensus" on various issues, including counter-terrorism, organized crime, and online security.