China starts international manhunt with belt and road corruption in its sights

Name: Trial begins for 3 suspected Chinese agents accused of harassing US-based fugitive
Uploaded: 2024-03-20T07:21:57.000Z
Duration: 2 min 5 s
Description: Trial begins for 3 suspected Chinese agents accused of harassing US-based fugitive

Directive by top anti-graft watchdog follows vow that Beijing is committed to a ‘clean Silk Road’

Police will work with central bank under ‘Operation Skynet’ to crack down on underground banks and offshore companies transferring illicit assets

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CCDI chief Li Xi told his Vietnamese counterpart Tran Cam Tu in November that China was committed to a “clean Silk Road”. Photo: Xinhua

Sylvie Zhuangin Beijing

Published: 3:21pm, 20 Mar 2024Updated: 3:55pm, 20 Mar 2024

Beijing has pledged to fight graft related to its Belt and Road Initiative as China kicks off the annual international manhunt it says is aimed at fugitive corrupt officials and cross-border corruption.

Beijing’s top anti-graft watchdog urged cadres to be “daring and skilled in fighting the domestic and international battlefields, and deeply advance the pursuit of fugitives and asset recovery and cross-border corruption governance”, according to a report in the official People’s Daily on Wednesday.

The Central Commission for Discipline Inspection (CCDI) made the call in a meeting on Tuesday with multiple agencies involved in the cross-border corruption hunt, the report said.

“[We] must strengthen the integrity of building the Belt and Road Initiative and reinforce the high-pressure stance against corruption to provide strong support and a firm guarantee for winning the tough and protracted battle against corruption,” the CCDI said.

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Trial begins for 3 suspected Chinese agents accused of harassing US-based fugitive

The belt and road global trillion-dollar trade and infrastructure programme was launched in 2013 with the promise of being a New Silk Road, and is President Xi Jinping’s signature project.

More than 150 countries from Asia, Europe, Africa and Latin America have signed up for the massive project, offering Beijing a chance to promote economic integration.