FBI may assist China's anti-graft campaign

Officials from China and the US are holding workshops in Beijing to discuss anti-corruption cooperation, according to the website of the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection, the Communist Party of China's highest body for disciplinary matters.

The meetings from Jan 15 to Jan 16 focus on issues such as the application of law and the sharing of evidence, the Beijing Times reports.

Among the Chinese participants are representatives from the Supreme People's Procuratorate, the Ministry of Supervision, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Public Security, and the Ministry of Justice. The meeting will also include members of provincial public security departments responsible for hunting corrupt officials and finding illegal assets they have moved abroad.

An official from the Ministry of Public Security said US participants include a California federal prosecutor and agents from the Department of the Treasury and Internal Revenue Service.

The ministry will also hold meetings with the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and US Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

A total of 680 fugitives suspected of economic crimes have been repatriated to China as a result of the transnational "Fox Hunt" operation launched in July, the ministry said.

China's ongoing counter-corruption campaign aims to catch high-ranking "tigers" and low-level "flies," terms assigned to officials depending on rank and level of corruption.