Chinese and Italian police officers share a moment during a joint patrol in Rome May 2, 2016. [Photo/Xinhua]

CHINESE POLICE OFFICERS began a two-week joint patrol program in Italy with Italian police on Monday. The four Chinese officers will cooperate with their Italian partners to deal with problems related to Chinese tourists' security, protect Chinese tourists' legal interests, and facilitate Chinese travelers' communication with the Italian police, Li Yang, a writer with China Daily, comments:

This is the first time Chinese police have cooperated with foreign police in such a program. The officers will share information with Italian police and help Chinese tourists if they need to talk with the local authorities. The presence of Chinese police officers in Rome and Milan, which are popular destinations for Chinese tourists, is significant as it shows the mutual trust between the two countries' police.

If this first step can be built on, and the police cooperation program be expanded to cover a wider field, it could help the two countries effectively fight against cross-border organized crime and terrorism.

The joint police patrol program is a fruit of the strong ties between the two countries, and shows a consensus of the two sides to continue to deepen people-to-people exchanges. Hopefully, the joint patrol program can extend to the other Italian cities and the Italian police can also join the Chinese police's patrols in Beijing and Shanghai.