Interview: Italian analyst highlights role of China's anti-corruption campaign in rule of law

China's stepped-up efforts against corruption since late 2012 has set a new blueprint for the implementation of rule of law, an Italian strategy analyst has said.

For fighting against corruption, China was right to start prosecuting those accused of crimes as part of this ambitious anti-corruption effort, Nunziante Mastrolia, a senior fellow from the European Center for International Affairs (ECIA) said in an interview on Monday.

The Italian analyst highlighted the "communication strength" of the terms adopted by Chinese authorities to define corrupt high-ranking officials, or "tigers", and lowly bureaucrats, or "flies," which he said was "an effective way to involve citizens in the anti-corruption campaign."

China has signed extradition agreements for the transferring of convicted persons with dozens of countries.

"No countries in the world should allow themselves to become a tax haven for Chinese citizens who illegally accumulate wealth," Mastrolia said .

For example the "Fox Hunt" operation, part of the anti-corruption campaign, led Italy to become the first European country to hand over a Chinese citizen suspected of committing economic crimes to China. The suspect, identified by her surname Zhang, fled to Italy in 2005 and reportedly lived in Bologna, a city in northern Italy.

Mastrolia highlighted that the anti-corruption campaign, which has seen a number of senior officials expelled from their positions or under investigation after graft-busters announced investigation into them, can be "a reference point for rule of law."

"The fight against corruption is something positive in order to restrain power in 'the cage of regulations', as Chinese President Xi Jinping himself has said," Mastrolia pointed out.

"The Fourth Plenary Session of the 18th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC) held in Beijing in October 2014 was the first time a plenary session of the CPC Central Committee took rule of law as its central theme," the analyst elaborated.

In December last year, China issued a guideline to promote law-based governance, vowing to build a rule-of-law government by 2020.

The analyst praised China's steps in the last years to ensure lawful, independent and fair use of its judicial and procuratorial authority.

A fair and civilized law enforcement is the only way to ensure development, openness, justice and integrity, while being corruption free and efficient at the same time, said Mastrolia. Endit