International Alliance Established to Combat Cross-Border Telecom and Cyber Fraud

Dragon Media News Desk

An international alliance aimed at combating cross-border telecom and cyber fraud was formally established in Lianyungang, Jiangsu Province, eastern China, on Thursday.

Representatives from 46 founding countries, 34 observer countries and four international organizations, including the United Nations and Interpol, attended the inaugural conference.

Initiated by the Chinese government, the International Alliance Combating Telecom and Cyber Fraud is an intergovernmental organization designed to strengthen cooperation among law enforcement agencies in addressing transnational telecom fraud, cyber-enabled fraud and related crimes.

Representatives from China and other founding members, including Vietnam, Laos, Kenya, Cambodia, Pakistan and Russia, addressed the conference. A representative of Interpol also delivered a congratulatory message.

Participants welcomed China’s initiative and recognized the alliance as an important mechanism for strengthening global public security. They also issued a joint statement announcing its establishment and stressing that telecom and cyber fraud have become global challenges requiring stronger international cooperation.

The statement said a more focused, professional, efficient and action-oriented intergovernmental organization, operating on the basis of relevant international conventions, could improve coordination against telecom and cyber fraud while protecting the security and legitimate rights and interests of individuals, legal entities and other organizations.

The alliance was established amid growing international concern over cyber-enabled fraud. According to an estimate by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, such fraud caused losses of between 18 billion and 37 billion US dollars in Southeast Asia alone in 2023. Many of the schemes were linked to organized criminal groups operating across national borders.

China has expanded law enforcement cooperation with more than 30 countries in recent years, including Spain, the United Arab Emirates and Myanmar, to combat cross-border telecom and cyber fraud.

Since 2023, joint operations between China and Myanmar have led to the dismantling of four major criminal groups operating in Myanmar’s Kokang region. Earlier this year, police authorities from China, the United States and the United Arab Emirates conducted their first joint law enforcement operation, resulting in the arrest of 276 suspects.

Cooperation involving Cambodia, Laos, Thailand, Vietnam, Malaysia, Indonesia, Sri Lanka and other countries has also resulted in the arrest and repatriation of more than 20,000 suspects linked to telecom and online fraud this year.

The establishment of the alliance also reflects China’s efforts to translate its Global Security Initiative and Global Governance Initiative into practical international cooperation. Proposed in 2022 and 2025 respectively, the two initiatives emphasize cooperative approaches to global security challenges and the improvement of international governance.