China must give details for Washington to act on fugitives: US official
China must give adequate details if it wants Washington to repatriate fugitives to China, according to a US official responsible for Asian affairs.
Daniel Kritenbrink, senior director for Asian affairs at the National Security Council, said on Thursday that any time the Chinese authorities raised concerns about a legal case they must do so through a formal procedure.
"Any actions that we take … have to be done in strict accordance to American law and our Chinese friends also have to give us enough detail for us to potentially make a case under American law for why we might take action,” Kritenbrink said.
He said Chinese and US officials would discuss the issue of repatriating fugitives during President Xi Jinping’s state visit.
Kritenbrink’s comments came on the same day as corruption suspect Kuang Wanfang, who served time in a US prison for money laundering and is the wife of a former official of state-owned Bank of China, was returned to China.
Last week, the US sent back Chinese businessman Yang Jinjun, who is suspected of graft and bribery. His sister, Yang Xiuzhu, has been detained in the US but is seeking political asylum.
The South China Morning Post reported last week that China's security chief Meng Jianzhu, who visited Washington to prepare for Xi’s state visit, demanded the US repatriate Ling Wancheng, the youngest brother of disgraced former senior Chinese politician Ling Jihua, and property tycoon Guo Wengui.
But the US remained non-committal on the repatriations, saying China needed to show proof of criminal activity before it could take action.
