China has vowed to enhance international cooperation to fight corruption, improve the business environment and build a road of clean governance with countries along the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), said a top official in the Communist Party of China (CPC) discipline watchdog on Thursday, April 25.

China has signed 120 agreements with 77 countries to snare fugitives abroad and confiscate ill-gotten gains, 55 extradition treaties and 64 mutual legal assistance treaties, and concluded multiple international conventions including the United Nations Convention against Corruption, to build a road of clean government, said Li Shulei, a deputy secretary of the CPC Central Commission for Discipline Inspection, at a Thursday forum.

The forum is part of the Second Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation, which starts on Thursday in Beijing.

Representatives at the sub forums of the Second Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation on April 25. (Photo by Han Xiaoming from People’s Daily)

“Establishing an international anti-corruption mechanism will effectively curb potential corrupt elements and ensure that funds and resources will be implemented in reality, which will also help China build a positive image among foreign countries,” Deng Lianfan, a deputy director of China against Corruption Law Association, told the Global Times on Thursday.

“A worldwide crackdown on corruption is absolutely necessary, but some people are able to evade being brought to justice due to different national legal systems. Countries need to cooperate in case investigations and information sharing,” Chen Wenhao, a professor from anti-corruption research center of Tsinghua University, told the Global Times on Thursday.

China launched the “Sky Net 2019” in January, a campaign that targets fugitives suspected of involvement in graft and prevents corrupt officials from fleeing abroad.

In 2016, Yang Xiuzhu, a former Chinese official who was on the run for 13 years, arrived back at Beijing Capital International Airport from the US to turn herself in.

In June 2014, China notified the US of Yang’s entrance to the country, and Yang was detained shortly after US Immigration and Customs Enforcement accused Yang of "violating the terms of the Visa Waiver Program," and requested that the immigration court deport her.