Chinese and Cambodian police have repatriated more than 1,200 Chinese nationals involved in gambling fraud in the first half of this year, according to an official message from the Chinese Embassy in Cambodia.

Wang Wenbin, the new Chinese ambassador to Cambodia, said, “The law enforcement departments of China and Cambodia will continue to co-operate and further deepen practical co-operation in information sharing, joint control and joint combating of cross-border crimes.”

He added that the two countries will work together to protect the safety of the people of the two countries and build a stronger and more unbreakable China-Cambodia relationship.

Wang, a former spokesman for China’s Foreign Ministry, became ambassador to Cambodia in July this year. Soon after taking up his new post, he held a meeting with Cambodian Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of the Interior Sao Sokha where it was agreed the two countries should further strengthen their efforts to combat cross-border crimes such as online gambling and telecommunication fraud.

In recent years, illegal betting and online gambling in Cambodia have been on the rise, and in this regard China has pledged to help Cambodia combat the problem so as to further strengthen the bilateral relationship between the two Asian countries.