China and the United States recently negotiated a prisoner swap that included the release of three Chinese citizens detained by the U.S. and three U.S. citizens in Chinese custody. Additionally, a fugitive on the lam in the U.S. for many years was repatriated to China. The negotiation represents important progress in the efforts of the Chinese government to bring back fugitives and recover their illegally obtained gains. The rare interaction was deemed a breakthrough in U.S. President Joe Biden’s China policy just before the end of his term.
Further, the U.S. State Department eased its travel advisory for China, taking it down to Level 2 (“Exercise increased caution”) from Level 3 (“Reconsider travel”), in addition to removing the “D” notation for China, which indicates a risk of wrongful detention for U.S. nationals. All these moves help reduce barriers in bilateral people-to-people exchanges.
The above-mentioned progress resulted from a meeting between Biden and his Chinese counterpart, President Xi Jinping, at the recently concluded APEC annual summit in Peru, as well as from the persistent efforts of law enforcement and security sectors on both sides. After the two heads of state met in San Francisco in November, China-U.S. ties have taken on signs of stability. Dialogues in a wide spectrum of areas have been resumed or established, among which negotiations in law enforcement and security are exerting increasing significance on bilateral ties.
China-U.S. interaction on drug control has also seen positive developments. In January, the two nations launched the Counternarcotics Working Group, led jointly by Chinese State Councilor Wang Xiaohong, who directs China’s National Narcotic Control Committee, and Deputy Assistant to the President and Deputy Homeland Security Adviser Jen Daskal on the U.S. side. In July, the working group held its first meeting of senior officials in Washington, during which interagency delegations from both sides provided briefings on the latest progress in substance control, cooperation on cases, technological exchanges, multilateral cooperation and a special campaign targeting online advertising. The two sides also spoke about their concerns and the direction of future cooperation.
China and the U.S. have exchanged views on several specific issues of law enforcement and security. In February, Wang met with U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas, requesting that the U.S. respect China’s core interests and major concerns, stop harassing and interrogating Chinese students for no reason, ensure the safety of Chinese diplomatic and consular personnel and lift visa restrictions against Chinese institutions and individuals.
Wang also met with U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken during Blinken’s trip to Beijing in April, and he urged the U.S. to adopt measures to address such issues as the unjustifiable harassment, interrogation and deportation of Chinese students, the smearing of China’s normal international law enforcement cooperation and the establishment of barriers hampering people-to-people exchanges.
Beyond these matters, both sides have adopted a “results orientation” in negotiations on law enforcement and security. In a video call with Mayorkas in September, Wang said both sides had earnestly implemented the consensus of the two heads of state, adhered to mutual respect, fostered dispute management and mutually beneficial cooperation and achieved many visible outcomes in areas such as drug control, repatriation of illegal immigrants and cooperation on individual cases.
Undoubtedly, the words “visible outcomes” reflects the pragmatic style of the bilateral dialogue in law enforcement. As China-U.S. ties remain tense, any substantive forward movements on drug control and law enforcement are conducive to increasing safety in the relationship between the world’s two biggest powers.
Needless to say, the two governments have differences in their perceptions of “security” and related policies, and on multiple issues, including social order, fentanyl, counterterrorism and extremism. Nonetheless, both sides are highly consistent when it comes to security, and they share important interests in law enforcement cooperation.
“Homeland security” is a crucial concept for the U.S. government, since drugs, illegal immigration and organized crime are among the factors affecting its domestic politics. Across the ocean, the “holistic approach to national security” proposed by Xi contains a range of subjects related to international cooperation in law enforcement. In recent years — on top of military conflicts — terrorism, cybercrime, organized crime and novel strains of crime have also been threatening world peace and security.
Against this backdrop, China’s Global Security Initiative attaches enormous importance to public security and the protection of the country’s interests overseas. Advocated by China’s Ministry of Public Security, the Global Public Security Cooperation Forum (Lianyungang), or GPSCFL, was launched as a platform whose core value — “cooperation promoting security and security-ensuring development” — is designed to help press ahead with global cooperation in law enforcement.
The Global Security Initiative concept paper released by China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs listed the forum as one of the most important measures to realize the initiative. On the forum, a series of documents including a concept paper on public security, the GPSCFL initiative on deepening cooperation for shared global public security and the consensus document on the global public security index were published. In addition, a training system for international law enforcement was set up to prevent and crack down on all types of transnational crime.
It should be noted that China-U.S. dialogue and collaboration in law enforcement and related areas are both practical and distinctive in that they help promote mutual trust and understanding, as well as maintain contact. Look at people-to-people exchanges between the two nations, for example. Border control personnel in the United States have been harassing, interrogating and deporting Chinese nationals — in particular students and academics. Around 300 Chinese citizens, including more than 70 students with valid legal standing, were deported between July 2021 and April 2024.
In one case in February, a visiting Chinese scholar was detained for 22 hours after arriving at San Francisco International Airport. Four U.S. Customs officers interrogated him for 12 hours in a secondary inspection area where further interviews are conducted. The man was questioned about his political background, research field, funding methods and purpose for visiting. He ended up having his visa cancelled, being deported back to China and banned from entering the U.S. for five years.
Similar incidents keep cropping up. Even Chinese government officials traveling at the invitation of the United States have been harassed and interrogated upon arrival and departure by U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents. This is a reflection of “pan-securitization” in America’s China policy, and also a bone of contention in law enforcement negotiations. Washington continues hyping the alleged “risk of wrongful detention,” and many Americans even think it’s risky to travel to China at all. Because of misinterpretations of Chinese law, non-government institutions in the U.S., including think tanks, would rather hold China-U.S. dialogues in a third country than send people to China for a conference. Apparently, if both Chinese and Americans feel insecure about going to the other’s country for travel or study, people-to-people exchanges will definitely be hindered and the foundation of public opinion will be eroded.
Donald Trump will assume office in January, China-U.S. ties will be put to a new test. In light of the current nominations of cabinet-level officials, there will probably be many China hawks in the new administration. Washington will likely launch a new tariff war with Beijing. Robert Lighthizer, one of Trump’s right-hand men, plans to begin the process of “strategic decoupling” to deal with China. In addition, since Trump completely ignores the issue of climate change and may withdraw the U.S. from the Paris agreement for the second time, China-U.S. cooperation in global climate governance will take a hit.
Therefore, whether or not the two sides can continue their collaboration in law enforcement and security is a question of strategic importance. The answer will affect the resilience of China-U.S. ties in the next phase. Drug control will remain a top priority of the Trump administration, and Beijing and Washington continue to have common interests in counterterrorism, fighting transnational organized crime, anti-money laundering and other issues. They need to enhance their cooperation to cope with security threats brought on by new technologies — notably artificial intelligence.
The bottom line is that both countries should place a high value on the irreplaceable channel of law enforcement cooperation. They should strengthen interagency collaboration, enhance communication between experts and think tanks and create even more visible achievements to reinforce the stable development of bilateral ties.
