American FBI agents may be based in China next year to help in the war against terrorism.
It was confirmed last night that China has agreed to consider a request from the US to allow the posting of FBI agents in Beijing to bolster Sino-US anti-terrorism co-operation.
It has emerged that Muslims from the north-west Chinese region of Xinjiang fighting with the Taliban have been captured in Afghanistan. Last month, China appealed for international support against Uighur separatists in Xinjiang, blaming them for a string of attacks over the past decade.
The State Department special counter-terrorism envoy, Mr Francis Taylor, said in Beijing the establishment of a legal attache office in the US embassy was under consideration.
"We anticipate posting FBI personnel to that office if approved, which will greatly improve the efficiency of our law enforcement co-operation," he said after two days of counter-terrorism talks with Chinese officials.
Mr Taylor said he was "optimistic" the request would be approved. As part of increased co-operation the US and China are to hold counter-terrorism talks twice a year. He said Washington had no plans to hand the Chinese Muslims captured in Afghanistan over to Beijing.
US forensic experts have opened an anthrax-tainted letter sent to Vermont Democratic Senator Patrick Leahy and are beginning a series of tests in an effort to discover who is responsible for the germ attacks that have killed five people.
FBI officials said the letter was taken out of the envelope in a controlled environment at Fort Detrick, Maryland.