* Businessman fled abroad in 2001, had been on most wanted
list
* Repatriation sign of progress in fighting graft, China
says
* President Xi visits United States early next week
(Adds details on arrival from state television, details)
By Sui-Lee Wee and Ben Blanchard
BEIJING, Sept 18 (Reuters) - China hailed the return by the
United States on Friday of one of China's most prominent
fugitives wanted for corruption as good progress and a
foundation for cooperation days before President Xi Jinping
begins a landmark U.S. visit.
The repatriation of Yang Jinjun marked the first time that
China has succeeded in getting a person back from the United
States who was on a list of 100 wanted corruption suspects
published in April, the graft-fighting Central Commission for
Discipline Inspection (CCDI) said. ID:nL3N0WT066
The list is part of "Sky Net", an initiative China unveiled
in March to coordinate its fight against suspected corrupt
officials who have fled overseas and to recover their ill-gotten
assets.
Chinese officials have long complained that China's
anti-corruption fight has been hampered by a reluctance by
Western countries to sign extradition treaties.
China does not have extradition treaties with the United
States or Canada - the most popular destinations for suspected
economic criminals from China.
"Yang Jinjun's return to China fully shows that China's
efforts to recover dirty assets and dirty people is daily
gaining support in the international community and shows that no
matter how far away corrupt elements run or for how long, we
will do all we can to get them back," Foreign Ministry spokesman
Hong Lei told a news briefing.
"The return of Yang Jinjun to China is important progress in
this area for both countries and has created a good basis for
further cooperation going forward," he added.
State television showed a handcuffed Yang, flanked by
policemen, being led off a private jet at Fuzhou airport in
southeastern China. An official read out a statement to him,
saying he would be taken to Zhejiang province and detained
there.
The CCDI said Sino-U.S. law enforcement and judicial
departments had "joined hands in the fight against cross-border
corruption offences".
Yang's repatriation "has laid an important foundation for
cooperation", it said in a statement on its website.
Xi begins his trip to the United States, his first state
visit there, early next week and is due to hold talks with
President Barack Obama.
The run-up to the trip has been overshadowed by arguments
over cybersecurity and China's claims in the South China Sea, so
the repatriation marks a rare positive note.
The failure by China to secure the return of suspects from
the United States has been an irritant in ties. The United
States has said it is not averse to cooperating on the issue but
China has often failed to produce the kind of evidence of
criminality needed under U.S. law to support deportation.
Yang, who fled to the United States in 2001, was the general
manager of a company called Minghe Group in Wenzhou city, the
CCDI said. He is wanted on suspicion of corruption and bribery
and had been subject to an Interpol "red notice".
Officials say only about a dozen people on the "Sky Net"
list of 100 have been returned to China, most from countries
with close ties to Beijing.
(Editing by Paul Tait and Robert Birsel)