?Chinese and Croatian police officers patrol after the launching ceremony of joint police patrol between China and Croatia in Zagreb, Croatia, July 13, 2019. Croatian and Chinese police officers started joint patrol for the second time here on Saturday. (Xinhua/Gao Lei)
ZAGREB, July 13 (Xinhua) -- Croatian and Chinese police officers started joint patrol for the second time here on Saturday.
Eight police officers from China's eastern Jiangsu province will patrol with their Croatian colleagues in four groups in popular tourists destinations of Zagreb, Zadar, Dubrovnik and Plitvice Lakes National Park for a month.
The Chinese officers belong to different categories of public security force, including anti-terrorism, border control and traffic management. They had taken a series of training courses about Croatia's situation and patrol skills before coming to the southeastern European country. They will help with Chinese tourists-related security cases, and visit local Chinese communities during the mission.
Last year, six Chinese police officers participated in a one-month joint patrol for the first time in three places, achieving fruitful results. According to the Chinese embassy in Croatia, the number of Chinese tourists to Croatia exceeded 250,000 in 2018, 40 percent more than the previous year.
According to Croatia's General Police Director Nikola Milina, the joint patrol is part of the Safe Tourist Season project which was launched in 2006. 95 foreign police officers will patrol with their Croatian counterparts in coastal cities and the capital this year.
"This is of great importance to us. Because foreign police officers contribute to greater personal feeling of safety and enable better cooperation in solving misdemeanors and criminal offenses. They also play an important role in prevention of criminal activities, enhancing traffic safety and providing various service information to their nationals," said Milina during his speech at the launching ceremony for the joint patrol.
Xu Erwen, Chinese Ambassador to Croatia, said in her speech that political mutual trust and the pragmatic cooperation between the two countries had been strengthened in recent years, while law enforcement cooperation is "a vivid reflection of the fast growing ties".
Croatia is famous for its beautiful Adriatic coast and rich history. Recent statistics published by Croatia's Tourism Ministry shows that in the first six months of this year, 6.88 million tourist arrivals and 26.26 million overnight stays were recorded, increasing by six percent and three percent year-on-year respectively. During the same period, nearly 180,000 Chinese tourists visited Croatia, 41 percent more than in the first half of 2018.
