China has called for stronger international cooperation against telecom and online fraud after Pakistan detained more than 100 Chinese nationals allegedly linked to illegal call centres. Beijing said Chinese citizens living and working overseas must strictly follow local laws and refrain from participating in unlawful or criminal activities.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian responded on Monday to media reports about the detention of Chinese nationals in Pakistan. He said China has consistently maintained a strict position against telecom fraud and related crimes and expects its citizens overseas to comply with the laws and regulations of the countries where they reside.
Lin said China has taken active steps to expand international cooperation against telecom fraud. He also said Beijing is moving towards launching an international alliance aimed at combating telecom and online fraud. China has urged other countries to work together against organised criminal networks involved in such activities.
The development comes as cross-border cybercrime and telecom fraud networks continue to pose a major challenge to law enforcement agencies in several countries. Illegal call centres are frequently used by fraudsters to target victims through phone calls, impersonating bank officials, investment advisers, technical support representatives or government agencies. Such operations can involve individuals from multiple countries and rely on complex digital and financial networks.
China has intensified its crackdown on online fraud and telecom crime networks operating overseas in recent years. Chinese authorities have taken action against criminal networks based in countries including Myanmar, Cambodia and Sri Lanka. Beijing has said that some of these networks were involved in online fraud, extortion and other forms of organised crime.
Earlier this year, Chinese security authorities claimed to have dismantled criminal networks operating from Myanmar and Cambodia. These networks were allegedly involved in online fraud and extortion targeting victims in several countries. Chinese authorities have said that citizens of China and India were among those targeted by some of these operations.
China has also pursued suspects after bringing them back from overseas. According to the Supreme People’s Court of China, more than 41,000 people repatriated from northern Myanmar for involvement in telecom fraud had been sentenced by Chinese courts by the end of 2025. Among them, 16 people received death sentences, while 39 were sentenced to life imprisonment.
China’s Public Security Ministry separately reported that 258,000 telecom fraud cases were solved in 2025. The figures underline the scale of the problem and Beijing’s efforts to treat telecom and cyber-enabled fraud as a serious organised crime threat requiring both domestic enforcement and international coordination.
The detention of more than 100 Chinese nationals in Pakistan has brought renewed attention to the overseas operations of suspected illegal call centres. However, the allegations against the detained individuals are still subject to investigation, and detention does not by itself establish criminal liability.
The case also highlights the increasingly international nature of telecom fraud operations. Criminal groups can operate call centres in one country, target victims in another and move proceeds through accounts or digital payment channels across multiple jurisdictions. This makes cooperation between law enforcement agencies, financial institutions and telecommunications authorities increasingly important.
Beijing’s response has so far focused on international cooperation, compliance with local laws and the responsibilities of Chinese citizens overseas. China has indicated that countries need to strengthen information sharing, coordinated investigations and joint enforcement to disrupt cross-border telecom and online fraud networks.
The latest development in Pakistan is therefore part of a broader global effort to tackle organised cyber-enabled crime. As fraud networks become increasingly transnational, authorities are seeking closer cooperation to identify operators, trace illicit funds, protect victims and prevent criminal groups from shifting their operations between jurisdictions.
