US Attorney General due in Beijing to discuss FBI office
( 2002-10-22 16:35 ) (7 )

US Attorney General John Ashcroft was to arrive in Beijing Tuesday to discuss the opening of a Beijing office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), US officials said.

"He is coming here to discuss counter-terrorism efforts, legal issues of common concern and the new FBI attache," a US embassy spokeswoman in Beijing told AFP.

Ashcroft's visit is part of a swing through Asia that has already taken him to Tokyo and which will proceed to Hong Kong, she said. It was not immediately clear who Ahcroft would be meeting in Beijing.

The top law enforcement official for the United States was to touch down just hours after Chinese President Jiang Zemin departed Tuesday morning for a meeting with US President George W. Bush at Bush's Crawford, Texas ranch.

China agreed in February, during the last Jiang-Bush summit in Beijing, to allow an FBI attache to set up an office in China in an effort to deepen cooperation in fighting global terrorism.

Earlier requests by Washington for an FBI office in China were not approved by the Chinese government, but Beijing's attitude apparently changed following the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks on the United States.