BEIJING - The United States is cooperating with China to repatriate Chinese fugitives facing corruption charges, a senior US official said on Thursday, a move that could pave the way for the return of hundreds of former government officials wanted for graft.

US Department of Commerce General Counsel Cameron Kerry, in Beijing on a five-day visit focused on anti-corruption and commercial rule of law issues, said that "there's good cooperation" between Chinese and US prosecutors "in finding ways to repatriate corrupt officials or ill-gotten assets".

"Our prosecutors on both sides yesterday (on Wednesday) discussed a number of specific cases, and they look forward to increasing cooperation on those cases," Kerry told reporters at a briefing.

Some of these cases include US investigations into alleged bribes paid to Chinese officials by companies from the US or registered in the US, under the Federal Corrupt Practices Act, he added.

He declined to be more specific and said he was not in a position to comment on whether the US was close to extraditing anyone.

"The United States currently does not have an extradition treaty with China, but there are other mechanisms available to pursue fugitives," Kerry said.

"Most fugitives from justice immigrated to the United States illegally. Many of them have been repatriated through our immigration laws."

Beijing's lack of extradition treaties and other countries' misgivings about China's use of the death penalty have allowed corrupt officials to escape Chinese dragnets, creating a problem of capital flight for the world's second-largest economy.

Last weekend, China arrested its most wanted fugitive, Lai Changxing, in Beijing after Canada deported him to end a 12-year affair that had plagued Sino-Canadian relations.

Cooperation between Chinese and US prosecutors started in 2007, Kerry said, adding that there's been an "increased energy on the Chinese side" over the past two years that he's been involved in the discussions.

David M. Luna, director of anti-crime programs for the US Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs, said on Tuesday in Beijing that the US remained committed to enhancing its partnership with China on "fighting corruption and crime".

Luna also said China and the US have discussed ways to strengthen law enforcement cooperation at both bilateral and global levels, in the opening speech of the sixth meeting of the China-US Anti-corruption Working Group of the Joint Liaison Group, established in 1998 to enhance legal and judicial cooperation.

According to Chinese media reports, China and the US exchanged a "fugitive blacklist" earlier this year under the framework of the liaison group.

China Daily-Reuters

(China Daily 07/29/2011 page11)