China says to look at corrupt asset seizures with U.S.

BEIJING, Sept 26 (Reuters) - China and the United States
will look at the mutual recognition and enforcement of seizure
orders for dirty assets which have been taken abroad by
corruption suspects, China's Foreign Ministry said on Saturday
after a presidential summit.
A perceived lack of cooperation from the United States at
the Chinese government's corruption crackdown has been an
irritant in ties between the world's two largest economies.
China does not have extradition treaties with the United
States or Canada, the two most popular destinations for
suspected economic criminals.
Western countries have baulked at signing extradition deals
with China, partly out of concern about the integrity of its
judicial system and treatment of prisoners. Rights groups say
Chinese authorities use torture and that the death penalty is
common in corruption cases.
China and the United States would push forward with the
handling of agreed upon "important corruption cases, the
ministry said in a statement released after the meeting between
President Xi Jinping and President Barack Obama. ID:nL1N11V0OS
Cooperation would focus on evidence exchanges, looking for
suspects' assets, deportation of corruption suspects and illegal
immigrants and other areas, the foreign ministry said.
"On the issue of recovering dirty assets, both sides agreed
to exchange views on the mutual recognition and enforcement of
confiscation judgments," it said.
The statement did not mention any details or specific cases.
The United States has deported two corruption suspects back
to China in the past week, one of them on a list of 100 wanted
corruption suspects published by China in April. ID:nL4N11O2UE
Xi has launched a sweeping campaign against deep-rooted
graft since taking over the Communist Party's leadership in late
2012 and the presidency in 2013. Dozens of senior officials have
been investigated or jailed.