Chinese police officers Shu Jian (right) and Sa Yiming patrol with their Italian counterparts near the Colosseum in Rome on Monday under a Sino-Italian agreement launched on Monday. Jin Yu / Xinhua

Gennaro Capoluongo, head of the international police cooperation service in Italy, said:"We feel proud to be the first one in Europe to undergo such an important collaboration program with China."

Luca Sarais, owner of Cantine Isola wine bar in Milan's Chinatown, said,"I think this is a positive initiative."

The initiative is an intercultural response to local criminal gangs, he added.

Huang Feng, a professor of international criminal law at Peking University, said the four Chinese police officers will perform their duties according to Italian laws.

The four officers, who speak Italian and English along with Mandarin, received training from Italian officers in Beijing before they were sent to Italy.

"The command of the Chinese language is their strength in assisting law enforcement, and they know the customs of Chinese tourists and therefore are better able to explain legal regulations and procedures to Chinese when they are in trouble or in disputes,"Huang said.