China’s foreign minister, Wang Yi, mentioned on Friday – during multilateral discussions with other nations – online gambling as part of “cross-border crimes” that needed to be tackled.
The talks, held in Chiang Mai, Thailand, involved minister-level representatives from Myanmar and Laos – two countries that border Chiang Mai province – as well as China and Thailand.
Mr Wang (pictured in a file photo) was cited by Xinhua, an official Chinese news agency, as saying China, Thailand, Laos and Myanmar had jointly carried out a series of activities to combat cross-border crimes and arrested more than 50,000 people involved in gambling and fraud since last year.
At Friday’s gathering, the four agreed to strengthen cooperation, maintain closer coordination, and intensify efforts to combat cross-border crimes such as online gambling and telecom fraud, drug trafficking and human trafficking.
This was in order jointly to safeguard what the news agency termed the peace and tranquility of the region.
Mr Wang was also quoted as saying that the security situation in the region was undergoing complex changes, and cross-border crimes such as online gambling and telecom fraud had persisted, jeopardising the safety of people’s lives and property, and affecting social stability and national image.
Only when countries in the region stepped up their joint efforts to combat these crimes could the high incidence of criminal offences be addressed, stated Mr Wang.
He said a China-proposed Global Security Initiative had received positive responses from other nations including the three others involved in Friday’s talks.
Taking the Global Security Initiative as a guide, China was willing to work with other countries to increase joint efforts to crack down on cross-border crimes.
Such work included tightening the border control network, and the complete blocking of illegal border crossing routes used by what were termed “ill-intentioned people”.
Mr Wang said there should also be exchange of intelligence and information, and joint operations, to repatriate those who flee across international borders from one nation to another, to try to escape justice.
China’s foreign minister also made reference to what China terms the “Lancang-Mekong region”. China’s definition includes Cambodia and Vietnam, as well as the four nations party to Friday’s discussions.
He called for a ministerial meeting soon on law enforcement and security cooperation across that region, to integrate human resources, intelligence, technology and equipment.
In March, Lin Jian, a spokesperson for China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said the country’s position on cross-border gambling was “consistent and clear”.
“China allows no Chinese capital to be invested in overseas casinos, allows no Chinese nationals to engage in operating overseas casinos, and allows no overseas casinos to entice Chinese nationals into gambling,” he stated.
China’s amended criminal code outlaws organising mainland Chinese citizens to gamble abroad. It came into effect from March 1, 2021.
