MOSCOW(Sputnik) — The United Kingdom reached an agreement with China to cooperate in tackling smugglers and organized criminal groups violating customs legislation, the UK government said in a statement on its website Thursday.
"The agreement establishes a new mechanism for closer working between Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs (HMRC) and General Administration of Chinese Customs (GACC) including regular information sharing in the fight against Customs fraud," the statement said.
According to Vicky Ranson, a high-ranking official of HMRC, London loses some 2 billion pounds ($3.09 billion) a year from tobacco smuggling.
The deal between customs services is part of a raft of agreements reached during a four-day state visit of a Chinese delegation headed by country's President Xi Jinping to Great Britain. This visit is the first one by a Chinese leader to the United Kingdom in a decade.
