The Foreign
Ministry has set up a new department to deal with security
issues concerning foreign affairs.
The move was described by a Chinese security expert as an
important step to coordinate the work in this field against the
background of globalization.
The department is expected to deal with such issues as
anti-terrorism and international organized crime, said Li Wei, an
expert on terrorism with the China Institute of Contemporary
International Relations.
Foreign Ministry officials confirmed the establishment of the
new department, but said detailed information will be released
later.
As China moves towards a "going-out" policy, or encouraging
enterprises to seek business opportunities abroad, many more
Chinese people are working in foreign countries. This has prodded
the government to pay more attention to guaranteeing the safety of
its citizens abroad, said Li.
A series of terrorist attacks on Chinese workers in recent
months have proved the necessity of creating an organization to
provide assistance and ensure effective international cooperation,
said Li.
A group of 11 Chinese workers were gunned down in Afghanistan on
June 10.
"Personally, I believe that the Afghan incident sped up the
decision to establish this new department," said Li.
In the past, officials from different departments dealt with
such incidents. The establishment of the new agency is expected to
speed responses.
"However, we cannot expect the new department to solve all
problems, and it still needs time to better coordinate its
functions with other government departments."
China has already worked effectively with other countries and
international organizations on bilateral and multilateral
security.
In the past, the Foreign Ministry put its emphasis on political
and diplomatic affairs. But, "In the future, I believe security
issues will also be included as one of the ministry's priorities,"
said Li.
Meanwhile, the ministry has also renamed the Department of West
European Affairs as the Department of European Affairs.
Since the European Union was expanded last month and joined by
some East European countries, the ministry decided an
organizational adjustment was necessary.
(China Daily June 22, 2004)