BEIJING - China is preparing to sign international law enforcement treaties with the aim of facilitating the repatriation of criminals hiding in other countries and encouraging international cooperation by sharing the criminal's illegally obtained proceeds, a high-ranking diplomat said on Friday.

Huang Huikang, director-general of the Department of Treaty and Law at the Foreign Ministry, said in an online interview that signing the treaties will also help "promote cooperation with other countries". He didn't elaborate on which countries will be involved.

Huang said China is also in discussions with other countries to establish international prisoner transfer treaties, which would allow individuals who have committed crimes and been sentenced by the other country to be transferred to their home country.

"All the work has but one goal, which is no matter what crimes they have committed and no matter where they have fled to, we will bring them back," he said.

Huang added that China has made some encouraging achievements in repatriating criminals.

China's most wanted man, Lai Changxing, was finally repatriated from Canada last year in June after being on the run for 12 years.

Lai stands accused of being the mastermind of a multi-billion-dollar smuggling operation in China in the 1990s.

However, Huang said the country still has a long way to go in repatriating criminals and recovering their illegally obtained proceeds.

He added that determination and international cooperation has contributed to the achievements, but room for improvement remains.

"Since China and the West - where criminals often seek shelter - have differences in political ideology and legal systems, cooperation has not often been smooth," Huang said.

"We need more communication and mutual trust to enhance cooperation."

He added that cooperation with the United States in this regard has been very positive, and both countries agreed to increase law enforcement cooperation at last year's China-US Strategic and Economic Dialogue.

The two countries have held nine China-US Joint Liaison Group on Law Enforcement Cooperation meetings, which was established in 1998 as a major mechanism and platform for the two sides to coordinate and communicate on law enforcement cooperation.

Huang said cooperation with other countries including Canada is also deepening with a sole goal of "not allowing corrupt officials and other criminals to remain free and beyond the reach of the law".

According to the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection of the Communist Party of China, about 4,000 officials have absconded from the Chinese mainland over the last 30 years, along with more than $50 billion in illegally obtained funds, reported Changjiang Daily, a newspaper based in Central China.

Huang Feng, a leading professor of international criminal law at Beijing Normal University, told China Daily that sharing the criminal's ill-gotten assets with other countries will encourage international cooperation.

Huang said some Chinese ministries initially rejected such an idea, stressing that the country had the right to "retrieve all State assets that have been embezzled and transferred to other countries".

With the new provisions, "China and foreign countries have now agreed to cooperate, which greatly helps bring criminals back", the professor said.

He also said that the treaty to transfer sentenced prisoners is a method that will benefit both countries, compared with regular practices of judicial assistance and extradition.

China has so far signed the treaty with nine countries: Ukraine, Russia, Spain, Portugal, Australia, Mongolia, Kazakhstan, South Korea and Thailand.

"When the criminals are extradited, the familiar environment with their families will support their rehabilitation," Huang said.

"In addition, other countries will be protecting their own citizens by relieving themselves of the burdens of harboring foreign criminals," Huang said.