Nuclear smuggling

United States and China Host Regional Counter Nuclear Smuggling Workshop

The United States and China jointly hosted a regional workshop on Counter Nuclear Smuggling from July 10 - 12, 2018, at the China National Nuclear Security Center of Excellence outside of Beijing. This collaboration reaffirmed the commitment of both nations to partner together against the threat of nuclear terrorism. This was the first time the United States and China co-hosted a regional workshop on this topic, which brought together participants from Kazakhstan, the Kyrgyz Republic, Mongolia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan.

U.S., Chinese, Central Asian, and Mongolian experts in diplomacy, border security, law enforcement, and technical offices exchanged views on the threat of nuclear and other radioactive material smuggling and discussed challenges and lessons learned. The workshop focused on nuclear and radiological security, detection and seizure of missing materials, crime scene management, and nuclear forensics. Representatives from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and INTERPOL also joined to promote best practices in countering nuclear smuggling and information sharing.

Together, the participating countries pledged to continue their collaboration to prevent, detect and respond to the smuggling of nuclear and other radioactive materials.