BEIJING, July 16 (Xinhua) -- Eight Italian police officers on Monday began patrolling tourist sites in four Chinese cities, with their local counterparts.

The joint patrol, the second such exercise between Chinese and Italian police in China, will last two weeks. The four cities are Beijing, Shanghai, Hangzhou and Xi'an.

The visiting officers will help address safety issues concerning Italian tourists. In accordance with bilateral cooperation document, they will not carry firearms or police weapons but will assist Chinese police with advices.

The joint patrol is reciprocal. Since May 2016, China has sent three groups of police officers to patrol streets in Italy. Italian officers were first invited to the joint patrol in Beijing and Shanghai in April last year.

Hu Binbin, deputy director of the international cooperation department of the Ministry of Public Security, said such cooperation was becoming more frequent and institutionalized, and improved tourist security. Enditem