CHINA / DIPLOMACY
US should cooperate with China on tracking escaped criminals: FM
Published: Jul 24, 2021 01:30 AM
Zhao Lijian Photo: VCG

Zhao Lijian Photo: VCG


 
The US should correct its wrongdoings and actively cooperate with China on tracking escaped criminals and recovering bribes, and should not make itself a “safe heaven” for criminals, China’s Foreign Ministry (FM) said on Friday, in response to US officials’ allegation that certain US residents have been coerced into returning to China in the “Operation Fox Hunt” anti-corruption campaign.

At a regular press briefing on Friday, FM spokesperson Zhao Lijian said China strongly objected to US smears and slander against China’s work in tracing criminals and recovering bribes. 

“China conducts law enforcement cooperation based on international law. We also fully respect foreign laws and judicial sovereignty, and protect the legal rights of criminal suspects,” Zhao said. 

Zhao also pointed out that the US has the largest number of Chinese people who are suspected of corruption and economic crime. 
“In recent years, the US has been responding negatively to China’s requests for cooperation in tracking escaped criminals, which not only violates the spirit of the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime and the United Nations Convention against Corruption, but also violates the public commitments the US has made on various occasions,” Zhao noted. 

A prosecutor from China, a former New York City Police Department detective sergeant and seven other people were “indicted Thursday on charges related to a brazen campaign to stalk and harass US residents” in an effort to force escaped criminal suspects to return to China, CNBC reported.