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Apec meet: ministers pledge to step up graft fight
China secured backing from Asia-Pacific ministers Saturday to deepen anti-graft efforts, in a move that dovetails with a high-profile Communist Party “fox hunt” for corrupt officials who have fled abroad.
China secured backing from Asia-Pacific ministers Saturday to deepen anti-graft efforts, in a move that dovetails with a high-profile Communist Party “fox hunt” for corrupt officials who have fled abroad.
The anti-corruption proposal is said to have been pushed by China and backed by the United States at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) gathering in Beijing, which culminates in a two-day summit of leaders from 21 member-economies starting Monday.
But it remained unclear how effective the move would be, amid apprehension in some countries over returning suspects to China due to fears they could be subject to abuse and denied legal due process.
China in July launched its so-called “Fox Hunt” — a campaign to bring back corrupt officials or their family members who have moved abroad, taking ill-gotten gains with them.
$40 bn for the Silk Road
Chinese President Xi Jinping also committed $40 billion to give a push to the country’s mega plan aimed at reviving the ancient Silk Road and “break the connectivity bottleneck” in Asia.
Xi pledged the sum at a summit attended by leaders of neighbouring countries including Pakistan and Bangladesh.
The summit was organised ahead of the main APEC meet.
Hosted by China, the meeting on strengthening connectivity and improving cooperation in the country’s neighbourhood was also aimed at firming up support for its mega 21st Century Silk Road Economic Belt and the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB).
