Chinese police joined patrolling the streets of Rome and Milan to protect tourists from the country as part of a "groundbreaking" programme in which China for the first time has sent its security officers to Europe.
Four Chinese officers received special training in Beijing before their assignment and can speak Italian as well as English.
Each has been paired with a local partner and they will be deployed at the busiest tourist attractions in Rome and Milan.
It was the first time China had sent officers to Europe to protect tourists, Liao Jinrong who heads up international cooperation at the Ministry of Public Security was quoted as saying by the state-run Xinhua news agency.
The initiative stems from an agreement between the two countries first reached in 2014 and confirmed last year.
Italian police have carried out similar collaboration with countries such as the US, Spain and Poland.
In Milan's Chinatown, located in the northern part of the Italian business capital, between 70 and 80 per cent of shops are run by Chinese owners, but around 80 per cent of residents are Italian.
The teams can offer language assistance and explain local laws and procedures to visitors who run into trouble.
The programme will last until May 13 and Italian police will later head to Beijing and Shanghai to offer a similar service, Hong Kong-based South China Morning Post reported.
About three million Chinese visit Italy every year, making the mainland the fourth biggest source of tourists for the southern European nation in 2014.
There have been media reports in recent years that thieves were increasingly targeting Chinese because they had a reputation of carrying more cash than other tourists.
Italian Interior Minister Angelino Alfano said at the launch he expected to deepen law enforcement cooperation with China and expand the joint patrols to other Italian cities.
A plan to have Chinese officers deployed in Paris was scrapped in 2014, reportedly over concerns they might have difficulty operating in a legal environment that was so different from that in China.
Countries world over including India have tried to woo Chinese tourists as last year over 120 million tourists from China travelled abroadbecoming largest outbound tourists registering a 11 million increase over the last year.
Chinese government tourism statistics say that Chinese outbound tourists spent a record USD 164.8 billion overseas in 2014.
Considering the potential, India has announced e-visas for Chinese tourists.
