BEIJING, Oct. 30 (Xinhua) -- China on Friday urged the United States to stop filing groundless accusations against China's efforts in repatriating corrupt fugitives and recovering illegal proceeds.
In response to a related query, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin said it is the consensus of the international community to cooperate in cracking down on cross-border crimes, including corruption, and refuse to provide safe havens for criminal suspects and illegal money.
"It is a just cause of safeguarding and promoting the rule of law to hunt down corrupt fugitives and recover illegal proceeds," Wang said at a daily press briefing.
He said during China's cooperation with more than 120 countries and regions to repatriate fugitive suspects in recent years, China has strictly observed international laws and the established international practices of law enforcement.
In such cooperation, China has fully respected other countries' judicial sovereignties and guaranteed the lawful rights and interests of criminal suspects in accordance with the law. Such practice has won widespread support and appreciation.
"As far as I know, the relevant individuals arrested by the U.S. are not Chinese law enforcement officials. The U.S. allegations are purely slander and smear," Wang said.
Noting the U.S. is the country where Chinese fugitives suspected of corruption and economic crimes are most concentrated, Wang said the U.S. has been responding passively to China's requests for cooperation in repatriation of relevant personnel.
"Some U.S. law enforcement agencies even blatantly emboldened those suspects and offered shelter to them, and many times impeded the fugitives from returning to China to voluntarily surrender themselves," added Wang.
Wang said what the U.S. has done stands in total opposition to justice and the rule of law and runs counter to the principles of relevant United Nations conventions against corruption and transnational crime. It also violates U.S. commitments openly pledged on the international stage.
"We urge the U.S. to stop groundlessly smearing China's efforts in repatriating corrupt fugitives and recovering illegal proceeds and earnestly implement its international obligations and commitments. The U.S. should stop coveting ill-gotten money of the suspects, and avoid degenerating into a haven for criminal suspects and illegal proceeds," Wang added.
According to media reports, the U.S. Justice Department has recently charged eight participants in China's "Fox Hunt" efforts and arrested five of them.