China to push for greater cooperation on graft, terrorism at Interpol meeting

BEIJING (Reuters)– China will push for greater international cooperation in the fight against corruption and terrorism when it hosts Interpol’s general assembly next week, according to diplomatic sources familiar with the matter, against a backdrop of concerns China is using the body for its own goals.

Last year, the global police cooperation agency elected a senior Chinese public security official, Vice Public Security Minister Meng Hongwei, as its president, prompting rights groups to ask whether Beijing could try and use the position to go after dissidents abroad.

Beijing has tried for many years to enlist the help of foreign countries to arrest and deport back to China citizens it accuses of crimes including corruption and terrorism.

The three Beijing-based sources, who are familiar with the planning for the Interpol meeting, said China is likely to make these two areas its focus for the general assembly.

Beijing has faced reluctance, in Western countries in particular, when it asks for the repatriation of those wanted for alleged crimes in China. Governments and judiciary in these countries have been concerned that the Chinese don’t produce evidence acceptable for Western courts, and that defendants might be mistreated and won’t get a fair trial in China amid concerns that allegations can be politically motivated.

Western diplomats familiar with Chinese requests say China sometimes misunderstands that in Western countries it needs to process its demands through the courts.

“They’re often quite surprised to hear that we can’t simply hand them over,” said one diplomat, declining to be named given the sensitivity of the matter.

But China’s security officials have been working to understand the legal requirements of developed countries and international bodies so their requests for expedition become more palatable.

Beijing has also been attempting to build intelligence sharing relationships with Western countries in the fight against Islamist militants, diplomats say. China is itself battling what it says are Uighur extremists operating in its far Western region of Xinjiang.

Speaking last week, Li Shulei, who leads China’s efforts to find and return those suspected of corruption who live abroad, called for a strengthened international antigraft cooperation framework.

“We must build a new order to fight international corruption... cut off escape routes for corrupt elements,” he told a meeting in Beijing.

China has given few details about Interpol’s general assembly, which opens in Beijing on Tuesday with a speech by Chinese President Xi Jinping.