US presses China over alleged scam bosses despite growing police cooperation

US President Donald Trump has personally pressed Chinese President Xi Jinping over transnational criminal organizations involved in Southeast Asia’s sprawling online scam industry, according to a senior State Department official. Michael DeSombre, assistant secretary of state for East Asian and Pacific affairs, told the Senate Foreign Relations Committee that Washington is raising concerns about both fentanyl trafficking and scam centers at the highest levels with Beijing.

The US has urged China to demonstrate that it is not helping alleged Chinese crime bosses evade international accountability, with the Chinese embassy in Washington not immediately responding to a request for comment.

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