We have to help each other to combat corruption: Kevin Rudd

Kevin Rudd delivers a keynote speech at "The Party and the World Dialogue 2015" event which kicked off in Beijing on Tuesday. [Photo by Wu Yan/Chinadaily.com.cn]

All countries should cooperate on the question of corruption on the basis of UN Convention Against Corruption and provide global solutions, said Kevin Rudd, former Australian Prime Minister, at a press meeting of "The Party and the World Dialogue 2015" event held in Beijing from Sept 8 to 10.

"This (corruption) is a universal, global problem and therefore requires global as well as national solutions. I would encourage cooperation between countries in dealing with this problem," he said as a suggestion for international cooperation between China and Australia.

"We have a UN Convention on corruption, which provides a basis for international cooperation. It's really important for countries to have detailed negotiations on the Convention around individual cases," he added.

As no extradition treaty exists between Australia and China, Australia has become a haven for fugitive Chinese corruptive officials and their allegedly stolen assets. The situation is also true to some other developed countries such as US and Canada.

Among 100 Chinese fugitives on the "red notice" list issued by Interpol, 40 are hiding in the US, 26 in Canada and 10 in Australia.

So far, 10 of the 100 wanted fugitives have been extradited to China, according to Huang Shuxian, Deputy Secretary of the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection (CCDI) and Minister of Supervision, at his keynote speech on the opening ceremony of the Dialogue.

Differences an obstacle

In November 2014, the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation members signed the Beijing Declaration on Fighting Corruption, aiming to eliminate corruption through extradition and judicial assistance and adopt more flexible measures to recover the proceeds of corruption within the APEC economies.

Later in the same month, the G20 leaders in Brisbane, Australia, adopted the 2015/16 anti-corruption action plan, which pledged to further international cooperation in hunting down corrupt people who exploit international borders to avoid prosecution.