China's top legislature on Tuesday ratified four treaties during
its 24th Session of the 10th Standing Committee of the National
People's Congress (NPC). These were the Treaty of Good
Neighborliness and Friendly Cooperation with Afghanistan; the
Occupational Safety and Health Convention 1981 with Turkmenistan; a
treaty instituting judicial cooperation with Australia on criminal
cases; and an extradition treaty with Azerbaijan.
According to the treaty with Afghanistan, which was signed by
President Hu Jintao and Afghan President Hamid Karzai in
Beijing on June 19, 2006, the two sides are to enhance the fight
against terrorism, separatism, and extremism.
"Under the treaty, China and Afghanistan will launch more
military and security cooperation and expand exchanges in trade,
agriculture, science, education, natural resources exploration and
so on," Deputy Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi said.
There are growing concerns that terrorists and drugs in
Afghanistan are threatening peace and stability in China's western
region.
The treaty consolidates China-Afghanistan ties, and represents a
commitment to maintaining peace in Afghanistan and fighting East
Turkistan terrorists in western China, a source with the Standing
Committee of the NPC said.
The Occupational Safety and Health Convention 1981, a bilateral
agreement signed with Turkmenistan that aims to tackle terrorism,
separatism and extremism?-- or "The Three Evil Forces"?--
provides that the two countries will share information and
technological support to this end.
The agreement also provides that suspected terrorists,
separatists, and extremists as defined by the pact should be denied
extradition as political refugees.
The 20-article pact, signed in Beijing?on April 3, 2006, is
the third international treaty to be signed by China to safeguard
regional peace and stability.
China has also signed a collective agreement to fight the three
evil forces with Kirghizia, Kazakhstan, Tadzhikistan and
Uzbekistan, which are members of the Shanghai Cooperation
Organization (SCO), a regional inter-governmental body.
A second pact was signed with Pakistan, an SCO observer, in
2005.
The treaty instituting judicial cooperation with Australia
proves China's efforts in trying to forge an international network
to combat rising cross-border crime.
"With closer political and economic ties and more personnel
exchanges, criminal cases involving China and Australia are on the
rise," deputy foreign minister Yang said.
Improved judicial cooperation, especially in handling criminal
suspects who go into hiding in Australia, had therefore become
increasingly necessary, Yang added.
The treaty will enable China to deal more effectively with
economic crime cases where corrupt officials flee abroad to seek
asylum in developed countries, analysts said.
Australia, which has no capital punishment, can refuse to offer
China legal assistance if a criminal suspect faces the death
sentence in China.
After negotiations, the two countries finally decided to omit
mention of the death sentence in the treaty, preferring to "show
enough attention respectively" in the memorandum of talks, a
diplomatic source said.
Under the treaty, the two countries should provide each other
with the "broadest assistance" possible in criminal investigations,
prosecution and litigation.
But this assistance does not include extradition under the
treaty.
Criminal cases also include violations of finance and tax laws,
according to the treaty.
Police statistics show that 500 suspects wanted for economic
crimes were on the run abroad in 2004. They were accused of crimes
involving a total of more than 70 billion yuan (US$875
million).
A 2004 report released by the research institute under the
Ministry of Commerce said about 4,000 Chinese officials suspected
of crimes involving US$50 billion had fled overseas since China
launched economic reforms in 1978.
(Xinhua News Agency November 1, 2006)