For first time, China sends security chief to Germany for key talks as Beijing eyes closer cooperation with Berlin

Communist Party’s top security official Chen Wenqing takes part in high-level bilateral meeting previously attended by deputies

Chen’s itinerary for Europe visit – his second trip abroad since becoming head of powerful commission – also includes stops in Italy and Serbia

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China and Italy have achieved results in counterterrorism, security for big events and fighting organised crime, says Chen Wenqing, the Communist Party’s top security official. Photo: Handout

Published: 7:00pm, 28 Sep 2023Updated: 7:56pm, 28 Sep 2023

For the first time, China has sent its top security official to Germany for a high-level bilateral meeting as Beijing pledges deeper cooperation with Berlin.

Chen Wenqing, a Politburo member and Communist Party secretary of the Central Political and Legal Affairs Commission, attended the China-Germany high-level security dialogue in Berlin, state news agency Xinhua reported on Wednesday.

Chen, 63, has been travelling since September 21, first stopping in Italy on a trip that also includes official visits to Serbia and Germany, according to state news agency Xinhua.

This year’s bilateral security dialogue between China and Germany is the fourth since 2017, when the first meeting was held in Beijing. The meetings were held annually until the Covid-19 pandemic began. Previous meetings were attended by deputies of the commission’s chief.

This is the second time Chen Wenqing has travelled abroad since last October, when he assumed his new role as head of the commission, the Communist Party’s top body overseeing national security and intelligence. In late May, Chen travelled to Russia for two security meetings.

At the event’s opening ceremony in Berlin on Tuesday, Chen said China had “always attached great importance to and actively supported law enforcement and security cooperation” between the two countries, noting that the bilateral security dialogues had “contributed to the maintenance of common security interests”.

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