There are certain facilities to which the Chinese government has been reluctant to give Customs access, perhaps because they present national security concerns or are in sensitive locations. As in many other issues in Sino-U.S. relations, the decentralization of authority within China has hampered prompt enforcement of our agreement. Ministry of Justice officials have sometimes attributed a lack of more rapid progress on investigations and visits to the intransigence of local officials. In addition, inadequate record keeping by prison officials has not facilitated investigation. Also, Chinese cooperation has often been a function of the state of bilateral relations.
Chinese cooperation is essential to successful performance and enforcement.
We need to conduct site visits and have direct access to information since we lack means of independent verification. We will continue to explore ways to enhance Chinese willingness to cooperate. This willingness is not something which can effectively be written into an agreement. Rather improved cooperation is more likely to result from steady, determined diplomacy and engagement by the Embassy, solid investigations by U.S. Customs, and the relationships our officials develop on the ground with Chinese counterparts. At present, it appears that the Ministry of Justice may be prepared to improve cooperation on this sensitive issue.