Britain and China are exchanging police officials to tackle the problem of human trafficking highlighted by the deaths of 19 mainly Chinese migrants in England, a British diplomat said on Tuesday.
Seventeen men and two women died last week when they were caught by fast-rising tides as they collected cockles in Morecambe Bay.
Britain plans to post a law enforcement liaison officer to its embassy in Beijing in the next few weeks to "take forward our co-operation with the Chinese on this and on other immigration crimes", embassy spokesman Alex Pinfield said.
A number of Chinese Ministry of Public Security officials had been seconded to the British Home Office to help identify Chinese illegal migrants, Pinfield said.
"We have been stepping up our engagement with the Chinese authorities to tackle this problem together," he added.
Fourteen people survived, but the death toll could rise because a search was still under way, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Zhang Qiyue told a news conference. China vowed to fight illegal immigration.
"All along, the Chinese government has resolutely opposed illegal immigration," Zhang said. "We are willing to strengthen co-operation with the British side and jointly deal a blow to this transnational criminal activity."
British police have arrested at least seven people on suspicion of manslaughter over the drownings.
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