China's intl anti-corruption cooperation yields fruitful results

BEIJING - Friday marks the International Anti-Corruption Day. China has bolstered efforts on international anti-corruption cooperation in recent years and major achievements have been made.

China has extradited 2,442 criminals from over 70 countries or regions, recovering illicit money worth 8.54 billion yuan ($1.24 billion) between Jan 2014 and Nov 2016, according to the latest data of the Communist Party of China Central Commission for Discipline Inspection (CCDI).

Last month, China's most wanted graft fugitive Yang Xiuzhu, who had been on the run for 13 years, finally returned to China and turned herself in to authorities.

Yang, 70, a former official in the eastern Zhejiang Province, fled China in April 2003 after graft inspectors began investigating her for embezzlement, according to the CCDI.

She was number one on a list of China's top 100 fugitives released in an Interpol "red notice." Yang was the 37th person on the list to return.

China's Foreign Ministry hailed Yang's return as "a major achievement in China-US law enforcement cooperation on anti-corruption."

China and the United States communicated and cooperated through a Joint Liaison Group on law enforcement cooperation, to secure the return of Yang, according to the ministry.

Yang's return proves the central authority's resolution in fighting corruption, the CCDI said.

These important achievements have helped promote a new international anti-corruption order, thanks to China's efforts made through bilateral and multilateral frameworks.

The China-US Joint Liaison Group set a good example for international collaborations on anti-corruption efforts.

Established in 1998, the group is a major channel for China-US law enforcement cooperation. It involves the two countries' foreign ministries, security departments, justice departments, among others.

During the G20 Hangzhou summit in September, Chinese President Xi Jinping and US President Barack Obama applauded achievements in the two countries' anti-corruption cooperation, fugitive repatriation and asset recovery.

The two leaders also reaffirmed the important role of the Joint Liaison Group and decided to enhance cooperation between law enforcement authorities.

Multilaterally, also at the summit, G20 leaders endorsed the High Level Principles on Cooperation on Persons Sought for Corruption and Asset Recovery, and the 2017-2018 Anti-corruption Action Plan.

These measures will help overcome political and legal barriers to treaties on extradition and criminal judicial assistance, according to the CCDI.

They will also help to establish a cooperation system involving law enforcement officers, prosecutors and diplomats.

According to the latest figure of China's Foreign Ministry, China has concluded a total of 79 criminal judicial assistance treaties with nearly 60 countries, and has signed extradition treaties with 46 countries.