China and the United States, as cosponsors of the APEC
Anti-corruption Workshop which was held on April 24-25, 2006, have
released in Beijing Thursday the contents of a joint statement on a
series of anti-corruption issues discussed in the workshop.
According to the Official Statement of the Shanghai APEC
Anti-corruption Workshop, the workshop is an important follow-up to
the commitment expressed by Chinese President Hu Jintao and US
President George W. Bush to increase cooperation in the fight
against corruption, along with the political will manifested by
APEC leaders to strengthen cooperation among APEC economies on
these important governance and integrity issues.
A total of 114 anti-corruption officials and experts from the
APEC economies, relevant international organizations and partners
attended the workshop.
Focusing on the theme of "Denial of Safe Haven: Asset Recovery
and Extradition," the participants had fruitful in-depth exchanges
and discussions to help fulfill the aspirations of APEC leaders to
take strong enforcement actions to deny safe haven to corrupt
individuals and prevent them from enjoying the proceeds of their
illicit activities, said the statement.
The participants believe, the statement said, the challenges
related to corrupt officials seeking safe haven in other
jurisdictions along with their illicitly-acquired assets remain
important priorities within APEC and strengthening international
anti-corruption cooperation is critical to effectively deny safe
haven, recover assets and extradite alleged criminals.
"Both China and the United States are ready to further
anti-corruption collaboration within the APEC framework by fighting
and prosecuting corruption, creating an honest and clean
environment and promoting enhanced economic and social development
in the Asia Pacific region," said the statement.
Prosecuting corruption and transnational bribery and financial
crimes, deterring and preventing corruption help create a strong
international governance environment to promote greater stability,
security, prosperity and economic development, the participants
held.
Participants exchanged information on anti-bribery measures,
both on the international level and within APEC economies, and
agreed to work jointly to combat bribery in international business
transactions. Participants also underscored the important links
between corruption and anti-money laundering, said the
statement.
Along with the adverse impact to the development of economic
growth, corruption provides an environment for organized
transnational crime and terrorism to flourish as well as weakening
critical enforcement systems and key integrity institutions, said
the statement.
According to the participants, anti-corruption cooperation under
the APEC framework by strengthening exchanges and learning from
each other on the basis of equality and mutual benefit, respecting
differences and emphasizing results should be pursued.
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(Xinhua News Agency June 29, 2006)
