Anti-corruption campaign 'good for China, US'

The Central Commission for Discipline Inspection (CCDI) of the Communist Party of China (CPC) opens a website to allow people to tip off the CCDI to corruption and other disciplinary violations. [Photo/IC]

Stronger anti-graft teamwork is good for China and the United States, observers said, following a US media report on Sunday questioning "Fox Hunt", China's global manhunt for corrupt officials and economic criminal suspects.

The New York Times story quoted unnamed US officials as saying that some Chinese law enforcement staff are "operating secretly" in the US to pressure prominent expatriates to return home, and "most likely are entering on tourist or trade visas".

One source close to the Ministry of Public Security told China Daily that the ministry is strict about police officers applying for official visas when they go overseas to hunt for Chinese corrupt officials.

"If necessary, after getting approval by the ministry, the special operation teams will apply for formal official visas to relevant countries to nab the fugitives or persuade them to come back to confess their crimes," according to the source, who spoke on condition of anonymity.

The source also told China Daily that Chinese judicial authorities have actively and willingly provided evidence to their US counterparts and asked them to assist in repatriating and extraditing corrupt Chinese officials hiding in the US.

"Due to obstacles in differences in laws and legal procedures between China and the US, sometimes the US judicial authorities claim the evidence offered to them lacks a 'complete chain of evidence' and are reluctant to give immediate feedback for the cases," the source said.

In June, Beijing and Washington reaffirmed shared commitments to crack down on transnational bribery and the return of ill-gotten assets.

Jin Canrong, a professor of international relations studies at Renmin University of China, said that "acting in a more proactive approach will benefit the US global image".

"With the US election around the corner, there is growing domestic pressure to complain about allowing Chinese public servants to search in the US for fugitives," Jin said.

Xinhua News Agency commented that "as corruption has become a worldwide headache, no single country would survive and fight alone. Mutual coordination and cooperation is the best anticorruption tool".

"Yet no one is allowed to deliberately generate 'roadblocks' for anticorruption cooperation," the agency said in an online article.

When Foreign Minister Wang Yi met with visiting US Secretary of State John Kerry in Beijing in May, Wang said that formulating an extradition treaty is of great necessity for the long-term development of the relationship.

On April 9, the first ministerial meeting was held between the Ministry of Public Security and the US Homeland Security Department.

According to a joint statement released after the meeting, the US "energetically supports" China's "Fox Hunt" campaign.

Yang Yixi contributed to this story.

Contact the writers through zhangyan@chinadaily.com.cn