File photo: CGTN

The 22nd session of the 13th National People’s Congress (NPC) Standing Committee adopted the decision on ratifying the “Extradition Treaty between the People's Republic of China and the Republic of Cyprus” and the decision on ratifying the “Extradition Treaty between the People's Republic of China and the Kingdom of Belgium”.

Up to now, China has concluded 59 extradition treaties with other countries. Since the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China (CPC), extradition treaties have been concluded with 25 countries including Belgium, Cyprus, Greece and other EU countries.

Extradition is an act where one country delivers a person accused or convinced of committing a crime in another country to the requesting country for trial. It is an important means of hunting down fugitives.

From 2014 to June of this year, the supervision departments, procuratorates, and public security departments in China has extradited 50 people in accordance with the law through cooperation with foreign law enforcement agencies in the “Sky Net” operation.

In July 2016, Huang Haiyong, a suspect in a major smuggling case involving tax evasion of 700 million yuan and absconding abroad for 18 years, was extradited from Peru to China, becoming the first fugitive extradited from a Latin American country.

In November 2018, the National Supervisory Commission and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs extradited Yao Jinqi, the former executive deputy magistrate of Xinchang County in Southeast China’s Zhejiang Province from Bulgaria, in accordance with the China-Bulgaria Extradition Treaty. This is the first time China has extradited a suspect from an EU country.

Extradition treaties will enhance China’s foreign judicial cooperation treaties, and help the international anti-corruption operations to hunt down fugitives. Legal means of extradition, repatriation and overseas prosecution to hunt down fugitives will be fully used, in order to not let the fugitives go unpunished. 

(Compiled by An Bowen)