China says it is stepping up efforts with the US to fight trafficking Reuters
HONG KONG (Reuters) – China is joining forces with countries like the United States to fight smuggling and other serious crimes, state media reported on Friday, citing the country’s National Immigration Administration.
Smugglers and criminal groups that cross borders at home and abroad have recently “tricked certain people into participating in smuggling activities”, the authorities said, without giving a specific time frame or specifying whether the smuggling involved goods, people or both.
“At this time, people’s safety was in great danger, it caused great economic losses, and some even paid the price of their lives.”
The administrative and law enforcement departments of countries, including the United States, are jointly fighting trafficking and other serious crimes “on the basis of mutual respect and equal consultation,” state broadcaster CCTV said.
The United States this year expelled Chinese people who wanted to enter the country illegally and return to China on chartered flights.
The difficulty in obtaining US visas and the economic turmoil after the COVID-19 lockdown in China has led to a large increase in Chinese citizens presenting themselves at the US-Mexico border.
About 56,000 Chinese migrants were encountered at the southwestern border with Mexico and the northern border with Canada crossing between ports of entry in fiscal year 2024 in May, according to US government data.
That’s up from 52,700 over the entire 2023 fiscal year that ended in October.
