2017年CRI China faces chances and challenges in global anti-corruption cooperation

In 2014, the Beijing Declaration on Fighting Corruption 2 was adopted by APEC leaders, marking the first major step by Chinese authorities in the international battle to root out corruption.

Since then, a series of additional steps have been made.

Following the G20 Summit in Hangzhou this past year, China established a research Centre on anti-corruption, fugitive 3 repatriation 4 and asset recovery in Beijing.

Its goal is to give G20 member countries a platform to share their experiences and provide intellectual support to an expanding campaign to track down corrupt 1 Chinese officials abroad.

Liu Jianchao, director of international cooperation office of the CPC's Central Commission for Discipline Inspection 5, says steps like this have allowed Chinese authorities to greatly-expand their reach.

"China has signed extradition 6 treaties with 48 countries, including France, Spain, and Italy. China would like to work with the United States and some other countries to negotiate the extradition treaties on the basis of mutual 7 respect, equality and mutual benefit which can accommodate each others' concerns. "

In concluding this past weekend's annual meeting of the CPC Central Commission for Discipline Inspection, Chinese anti-graft officials are suggesting the country has now become one of the leaders in the global campaign against corruption.

Kong Xinfeng, political researcher with the Chinese Academy of Governance, says the continued fight against corruption is going to require global governance.

"Looking at the achievements we've reached so far, China is an advocate as well as a beneficiary, in the process of building a new pattern of global anti-graft cooperation. And China is not the only country that has benefited from this. China's experience provides a product for the international community to learn from. We hope to create a global consensus 8 that clean politics is not just the goal of our country, but one which can work for everyone."

But in saying this, Kong Xinfeng does suggest there are a number of barriers which will need to be overcome.

"Firstly, corruption traditionally refers to acts within a sovereign state. The second barrier is cultural traditions, as people in different cultures or with different religious beliefs may perceive corruption in different ways. Thirdly, there are institutional barriers. Currently, the existing rules surrounding global anti-corruption campaigns are still loose, and lack a unified 9 convention that can overcome ideological 10 bias 11."

Official figures show that from 2014 to 2016, China has repatriated 12 around 26-hundred fugitives 13 from more than 70 different countries.