Joint Battle Against Transnational Crime

By+staff+reporter+AN+XINZHU

ON April 22， Interpols National Central Bureau of China released a list of 100 wanted criminals worldwide， most of which were suspected of bribe taking and embezzlement.

Ranked No. 2 on the list was Li Huabo， a former official with the finance department in Poyang County of Jiangxi Province， accused of embezzling RMB 94 million in public funds between 2006 and 2010. On May 9， 2015， Li， who had fled to Singapore four years earlier， was repatriated to China.

Multinational Cooperation in Anti-Corruption

In recent years， China has strengthened its efforts to extradite and arrest corrupt personnel and recover illicit money. In June 2013， China and Canada signed an agreement to share and return recovered assets， Chinas first such agreement. By November 2014， China had concluded with foreign countries 39 extradition treaties （29 of which have taken effect） and 52 criminal judicial assistance treaties （46 of which have taken effect）.

According to Xu Hong， director general of the Department of Treaty and Law at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs， China actively participates in the negotiation， implementation， and related work of the United Nations Convention against Corruption （UNCAC）.The Convention， for the first time at an international level， set up a number of mechanisms for corruption prevention， criminal conviction and law enforcement， international cooperation of judicial and law enforcement， and asset recovery and return， laying a multilateral legal foundation for China to pursue fugitives and dirty money.

During the 2014 APEC Ministerial Meeting in Beijing， APEC members decreed to adopt the Beijing Declaration on Fighting Corruption and set up a cross-border law enforcement network to strengthen transnational anti-corruption cooperation. Chinese President Xi Jinping and U.S. President Barack Obama reached consensus on deepening Sino-American cooperation in this regard. The U.S. is a major destination of fleeing corrupt Chinese officials. Both sides discussed at length issues of mutual concern and their solutions， such as anti-money laundering supervision， confiscation and recovery of illicit assets， new financial transactions and patterns of payment， and virtual currency management.

According to Hu Binchen， deputy director of the International Cooperation Department at the Ministry of Public Se- curity， it is necessary to intensify international cooperation in the fight against terrorism， illicit drugs， human trafficking， and economic crimes， and constantly explore new cooperation models. Hu also suggested the establishment of an international working team for major cross-border cases， and to carry out unified strikes against the most common criminal activities.endprint

Anti-Terrorism Cooperation

The September 11 attacks in 2001 put anti-terrorism at the forefront of international cooperation in combating organized crime. By establishing bilateral anti-terrorist consultation mechanisms with many countries， China has not only pushed the Shanghai Cooperation Organization （SCO） to enhance regional anti-terrorism cooperation， but also played an active role in the Global Counter-Terrorism Forum， and advanced anti-terrorism cooperation mechanisms of the BRICS nations， APEC， and ASEAN.

According to Shan Chunchang， leader of the State Councils Emergency Management Panel， since the founding of the SCO， its member countries have strengthened anti-terrorism cooperation by launching drills and concerted actions， jointly guaranteeing human security and international peace.

In May 2015， the 13th ASEAN Regional Forum （ARF） Inter-Sessional Meeting on Counter-Terrorism and Transnational Crime was held in Nanning， capital of Southwest Chinas Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region. Representatives from 17 ARF member countries， the ASEAN Secretariat， and the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime attended the meeting and exchanged views on anti-terrorism， drug control， tracking fugitives， combating cybercrime， and border management.They also discussed the draft of a 2015-2016 work plan on cracking down on terrorism and cross-border crimes.

Because of their unique geographical connections with China， ASEAN member states have maintained a close relationship with China regarding combating transnational crime since the 1990s. China has also made prominent contributions to public security and stability in the ASEAN region.

Joint Anti-Drug Campaign

In the field of drug control， China is confronted with a complex situation of intertwined drug crime at home and abroad. Deepening international cooperation， therefore， is of great importance to its domestic anti-narcotics campaign.

To solve the drug problems infiltrating the Mekong River valley， China in 2013 negotiated with Laos， Myanmar， and Thailand and reached a package arrangement on drug control， jointly launching a raid in the Mekong River valley. During the operation， over 60 kg of methamphetamine was seized， and several prominent drug traffickers were caught.

China is committed to helping the surrounding region reduce its economic dependence on drugs. For years， China has conducted satellite remote sensing and on-site investigations of poppy plantations in north Myanmar and Laos. The country has pledged RMB 5 billion to assist farmers there to implement over 200 programs of substitution planting.endprint

Sharing Experience

International police cooperation contributes to the fight against transnational crime. According to Zhao Yu， vice dean of the College of International Police Enforcement at the Chinese Peoples Public Security University， by the end of October 2014， China had set up direct bilateral police cooperation relationships with 83 countries and regions， and established a regular meeting mechanism with the police departments of 31 countries. The Chinese police force also plays an important role in UN peacekeeping operations， Interpol， and the SCO.

In terms of bilateral cooperation， China and the U.S. has signed an agreement on mutual legal assistance in criminal matters. The Joint Liaison Group， founded in 1998， is the main platform for coordination and communication between the two sides.

Chinese and Russian police also maintain national-level close cooperation， and have also established smooth cooperative mechanisms at the provincial level. For example， police departments in Chinas Heilongjiang Province and Russias Primorsky Territory have achieved fruitful cooperation in combating transnational crime.

As regards multinational cooperation， some countries hope to learn from Chinas experience. According to William Kiprono， director of Kenya Wildlife Service， Kenya wants to form a strategic partnership with China in wildlife protection. China owns world-leading technology and Kenya hopes to learn from Chinas vast experience in protecting natural habitats.

“As poaching and smuggling become global problems， Kenya and China have launched cooperative projects to promote the protection of wild animals and plants. This partnership has brought about actual effects. With the help of China， incidences of poaching in Kenya have decreased，” said Kiprono. In order to intensify the fight against poaching， Kenya wishes to deepen its cooperation with China in the fields of information sharing， technical exchange， and infrastructure construction.endprint