China Hosts Inaugural Meeting of Global Anti-Telecom Scam Alliance

China hosted the inaugural conference of the International Alliance Against Telecom and Online Fraud on September 10 in Lianyungang, Jiangsu province. Chinese State Councilor and Minister of Public Security Wang Xiaohong addressed the event, urging international partners to accelerate the alliance's institutional development, establish regular joint training, and build coordinated mechanisms to counter transnational fraud networks. On the sidelines of the gathering, Wang held bilateral security talks with senior interior and security officials from Azerbaijan, Cambodia, Malaysia, Armenia, and Pakistan.

Cross-border telecommunications and cyber fraud has transformed from a localized nuisance into an entrenched transnational organized crime enterprise. The creation of this alliance marks an attempt to shift international policing from ad hoc bilateral crackdowns toward a permanent multilateral mechanism. If realized, an institutionalized framework could significantly streamline mutual legal assistance, asset recovery, fugitive extraditions, and operational intelligence sharing across jurisdictions.

China formally convened the founding conference of the International Alliance Against Telecom and Online Fraud on September 10 in Lianyungang, Jiangsu province, as reported by Xinhua and People's Daily. Chinese State Councilor and Minister of Public Security Wang Xiaohong attended the event and delivered an opening address to domestic and foreign delegates. In his speech, Wang called on participating nations to anchor cross-border enforcement in the rule of law, institutionalized cooperation, and equal multilateral participation. He emphasized that the alliance should become a key operational platform for global anti-fraud governance by enhancing joint strike capabilities, sharing technical resources, and aligning policing mechanisms under Beijing's Global Security Initiative framework. Wang specifically urged partners to accelerate the institutionalization of the alliance, maintain regularized enforcement campaigns against high-priority targets and key illicit supply chains, and organize specialized joint training exercises to lift collective policing capacity. Representatives from alliance initiating states, founding member countries, and international organizations addressed the conference, according to Chinese official reports. On the sidelines of the conference, which coincided with the 2026 Global Public Security Cooperation Forum in Lianyungang, Wang conducted a series of bilateral meetings with participating interior and security chiefs. Meeting with Cambodia's Senior Minister and Secretary-General of the National Committee to Combat Cyber Fraud, Chhay Sinarith, Wang praised Phnom Penh's efforts to target fraud networks and pledged ongoing Chinese assistance to upgrade Cambodian enforcement capacity. In talks with Malaysian Home Minister Saifuddin Nasution Ismail, both sides agreed to deepen cooperation against cyber fraud, illegal online gambling, narcotics trafficking, and terrorism. Wang also concluded formal bilateral security agreements with delegations from the Caucasus. Meetings with the head of Azerbaijan's State Security Service, Ali Naghiyev, and the chairman of Armenia's Investigative Committee, Arthur Poghosyan, concluded with the signing of bilateral cooperation documents covering transnational organized crime and overseas security coordination. In a separate meeting with Pakistani Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi, discussions centered on counter-terrorism collaboration and the protection of Chinese personnel, institutions, and development projects operating inside Pakistan.