China, US to strengthen law enforcement cooperation

The China-US Joint Liaison Group on Law Enforcement Cooperation started its annual meeting in Beijing on Wednesday to map out priorities for the coming year.

A senior official highlighted China's willingness to strengthen cooperation with the United States in combating cross-border crime, especially fugitives, suspected of corruption, fleeing abroad.

"All crimes undermine public order and corruption in particular is universally recognized by the international community as having an erosive impact on society," Vice-Foreign Minister Liu Zhenmin said at the opening ceremony.

The US, one of the most popular destinations for fugitive Chinese officials accused of corruption, has yet to sign extradition treaties with China. The JLG, established in 1998, serves as a key platform for both countries to coordinate and communicate on law enforcement cooperation.

During the two-day meeting, dozens of Chinese delegates and nearly 50 US delegates will discuss a range of topics, including how to tackle cyber crime, the fight against corruption, criminal judicial assistance, apprehending criminals, and cracking down on drug trafficking.

Liu called for China and the US to make better use of the JLG as the main channel in law enforcement cooperation so as to "bring more positive energy to our bilateral relations".

The meeting came less then one month after US President Barack Obama's visit to China, during which both countries agreed to beef up law enforcement cooperation.

The APEC economic leaders' meeting last month also established a regional law enforcement cooperation network to crack down on corrupt officials.

Deputy Chief of Mission at the US Embassy Dan Kritenbrink said the JLG is an important mechanism to foster information exchanges between the countries to track down fugitives.

Sun Ang, special coordinator for fugitive repatriation and international law enforcement cooperation under the Foreign Ministry, said the JLG has seven working groups, but bringing fugitives to justice will continue to be high on its agenda.

The Chinese bodies participating in the JLG are the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Public Security, the Ministry of Justice, the Supreme People's Procuratorate, the Ministry of Supervision, the General Administration of Customs and the People's Bank of China.

From the US, member from the Department of State, the Department of Justice, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Department of Homeland Security and embassy in China attended the meeting.

China and the US usually hold one JLG meeting every year.