FOUR Italian police officers started to patrol the Badaling Great Wall in Beijing on Monday as part of a law enforcement cooperation program between China and Italy.

    This is the first time that foreign police officers have carried out joint patrols in China with Chinese peers.

    During the two weeks from Monday to May 7, the four Italian officers will join their Chinese counterparts to conduct patrols at tourist hotspots in Beijing and Shanghai.

    They will work with the Chinese police to offer suggestions to Italian tourists in China should they need police services. The Italian officers will not be armed and will have to abide by Chinese laws, according to the Ministry of Public Security (MPS).

    Ettore Francesco Sequi, Italian ambassador to China, said Monday that Italy has supported and praised the joint patrols, which will “play a significant role in promoting bilateral safety cooperation and fighting cross-border crime.”

    China has already sent four Chinese police officers to Rome and Milan, both popular destinations for Chinese tourists, for joint patrols with their Italian counterparts in May 2016.

    Another eight Chinese officers, selected nationwide and proficient in Italian, will be sent to Rome, Milan, Florence and Naples to help deter crimes against Chinese tourists in June as part of the same project.

    The idea of the cooperation project is to provide assistance to a rising number of tourists from both countries visiting each other’s major sightseeing spots.

    According to Liu Jianming, deputy head of the quality standardization and administration department with China National Tourism Administration, more than 800,000 Chinese and Italian tourists traveled between the two countries in 2016.

    The aim of the program is to further improve tourist services, he said.

    Liao Jinrong, head of the international cooperation department of the MPS, said the joint patrols of police from both countries have laid a foundation of trust for China and Italy to deepen cooperation in law enforcement and in combating cross-border crimes, and have set a good example for concrete law enforcement collaboration between China and other countries, Liao said.

    China may also send police officers to Austria and Spain later this year to help ensure Chinese tourists’ safety and to aid in communication, Liao said.

    China and Italy signed a memorandum of understanding on joint police patrols in September 2015, the first such agreement between China and a European country. The first group of four Chinese police officers patrolled in Rome and Milan from May 2 to 13 last year.(SD-Xinhua)