China aims for global network on corruption

China hopes to construct a global network during the upcoming G20 summit that will track corrupt officials who had fled the country, a Chinese foreign ministry official said yesterday.

At the APEC economic leaders meeting in Beijing earlier this week, member economies had reached a crucial deal on tracking down corrupt officials on the run, recovering illegal funds and denying entrance of suspects into their territories, Zhang Jun, head of the international economy department at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, told reporters yesterday.

“If the G20 also takes a step forward in this respect, we would be able to form a global network in the anti-corruption area,” Zhang said.

He said it was a consensus of members to put the anti-corruption issue on the agenda of the G20 summit to be held in Brisbane at the weekend.

Zhang said 18 of the G20 members are also members of the UN Convention Against Corruption, while the G20 has set up a work panel on combatting corruption.

China has been stepping up its fight against corruption as it tries to bring more fugitives to justice.

“Under the current situation, it’s a very important part of the global anti-corruption effort to establish a worldwide anti-corruption network,” Zhang said.

He cited statistics from the World Bank that bribery worldwide costs businesses roughly US$1 trillion every year.

“Just imagine if that was not in the hands of corrupt people, how many things it could be used on and how much in economic returns it could bring about,” Zhang said.

As anti-corruption work is closely linked to the growth of the global economy, it is a legitimate item on the G20 agenda, Zhang said.