China calls on US, Canada, Australia to jointly combat corruption

China appealed to all nations, especially the countries attracting most of China's corruption fugitives, such as the US, Canada, and Australia, to work with China to combat transnational corruption, a senior diplomat said on Wednesday.

China called for joint efforts to cement cooperation in judicial and law enforcement.

The country wants to combat transnational corruption crimes hand in hand, so as not to let the countries become a "safe haven" for corrupt fugitives, said Xu Hong, director-general of the Department of Treaty and Law in the Foreign Ministry, during a press conference.

Xu recognized there were still "tremendous challenges and difficulties" in anti-corruption, hunting for fugitives fleeing abroad and recovering of illicit assets internationally.

Some countries are reluctant to sign an extradition treaty with China; some foreign judges rule no extradition or repatriation due to lack of understanding of China's laws and judicial practice, according to Xu.

He said it was necessary for these countries to strengthen political willingness and discard their prejudice. Meanwhile, China will increase communication with these countries in order to boost mutual trust, better handle legal barriers and explore pragmatic cooperation.

The Foreign Ministry will continuously press ahead with the negotiation and signing of bilateral judicial cooperation treaties, expand and perfect the legal cooperation network for hunting fugitives fleeing abroad, and resort to multilateral treaties such as the United Nations Convention against Corruption to pursue the criminals and their illicit funds.

China has signed extradition treaties with some Western countries including France, Spain, Australia, Italy and Portugal. The treaties signed with Spain and Portugal have already gone into effect.

China approved a treaty with Australia, but Australian parliament still has concerns and have yet to ratify it.

"Both sides also touched upon the issue during President Xi's visit to Australia this month and Australia said it will speed up the ratification process," Xu said.

Xu said the lack of an extradition treaty remains a major obstacle for anti-corruption cooperation between China and the US, making extradition cooperation impossible. China can only take other means to chase fugitives and assets, such as repatriation, prosecution and trial of the suspects in the US.

US laws state that only by signing a treaty can two countries cooperate on extradition, even the UN Convention against Corruption cannot serve as a legal basis for extradition. "But the US seems unprepared for such treaty."