The visiting director of the US Federal Bureau of Investigation lauded Chinese anti-terrorism measures being put into place for the Beijing Olympics.
BEIJING: The visiting director of the US Federal Bureau of Investigation on Wednesday lauded Chinese anti-terrorism measures being put into place for the Beijing Olympics.
FBI Director Robert Mueller said he held talks with his Chinese counterparts this week focusing on Olympic security, which left him confident the Games would be free of security threats such as terrorism.
"The substance of our discussions has been and will continue to be on securing Olympic venues from potential attacks, principally from terrorists," he said in Beijing.
"The challenge ... is to keep the various venues secure but I am very much impressed by the preparations that have been made to accomplish that and I fully anticipate the Olympics will be secure and safe."
Mueller arrived Monday for a visit that he said was in keeping with a traditional pre-Olympic "exchange of ideas" that the FBI holds with host cities.
Security takes on additional importance for the agency this year amid plans by US President George W. Bush to attend the August 8-24 Beijing Games. Mueller's talks with Ministry of Public Security officials also touched on terrorism and cyber-crime, he said, offering no details of the discussions.
Last July, Mueller expressed concern over Chinese espionage operations in the United States, but he declined to comment on the subject on Wednesday.
He said the FBI was committed to strengthening communications with its Chinese counterpart, which traditionally have centred on cooperation in fighting international crime, such as smuggling and drug trafficking.
But he added there were currently no plans to build up the agency's small presence in China. The FBI set up a liaison office in Beijing in 2002 that is run out of the US embassy, US officials said. Mueller was due to leave Beijing on Wednesday.
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