40 Chinese 'red notice' fugitives returned

The progress is a result of China's increasing cooperation with foreign countries in this field.

The return of Yang Xiuzhu, former deputy director of the construction bureau of Zheijang province and No 1 on the list, is evidence of the effective cooperation between China and the US. It was facilitated by a Joint Liaison Group on law enforcement cooperation (JLG) that was established in 1998 and involved the two countries' foreign ministries, security departments and justice departments, among others.

The cooperation between China and other Western countries in anti-corruption efforts also has achieved great progress. China's extradition treaties with France and Italy took effect in 2015 and 2016 respectively. In September 2016, China and Canada signed an agreement on returning and sharing assets that Chinese fugitives illegally transfer to Canada. Progress also has been made in cooperation between China and New Zealand.

China has participated in 15 regional and global anti-corruption multilateral mechanisms in recent years.

According to statistics from the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection (CCDI), the number of fugitives returned from developed countries such as the US, Canada, Australia and New Zealand increased dramatically in 2016.

China extradited 2,566 criminals from over 90 countries or regions, recovering illicit money worth 8.6 billion yuan ($1.24 billion) from 2014 to 2016, according to CCDI.

A close look at the 100 fugitives on the "red notice".