BEIJING, Sept. 25 (Xinhua) -- Chinese and Australian police Monday signed a protocol to strengthen cooperation in police work and combating trans-national crime.
An action plan to jointly crack down on economic crime was also signed, and the Australian Federal Police handed back 1.15 million yuan in illegally-obtained assets they had confiscated.
The assets were seized from two Chinese suspects, identified by their surnames Xue and Gu, who have been charged with illegally receiving public deposits.
China is currently working on an anti-corruption campaign which targets both high-ranking "tigers" and lowly "flies."
The country is also seeking to widen its "Sky Net" and "Fox Hunt" campaigns to locate and return economic fugitives, many of whom have fled to Australia.
"China and Australia are both important countries in the region," said Meng Qingfeng, vice minister of public security, adding "cooperation in areas such as law enforcement and security is conducive to the security and stability of both sides and the entire region."
Australian Federal Police Commissioner Andrew Colvin said Australian police are willing to step up mutual trust with their Chinese counterparts and cooperate in fugitive manhunts and narcotics control.
