How has cooperation between China and the EU in the fight against transnational crime since 2015 helped China’s anti-corruption campaign? (P061)

• In Event: Poster session

Abstract

Abstract: Since 2021, China and the EU have become each other’s largest trading partners. Due to the increasing flow of people, goods, and services between China and the EU, transnational crime may have seriously threatened these countries’ social order.
The anti-corruption campaign “Skynet” launched by the Chinese government in 2015 is a vital instrument to locate and repatriate fugitives accused of corruption abroad. The campaign attracted global attention and raised questions about its effectiveness, legitimacy, and impact on China’s relations with other countries. This research focuses on how China’s anti-corruption campaign has benefited from cooperation with the EU in their fight against transnational crime. China’s “Skynet” operation is an example in case.
The “Skynet” campaign is a significant operation deployed by the Chinese government in April 2015 to target corrupt fugitive elements. The research will first look into the characteristics of cooperation between China and the EU in the fight against transnational crime, so as to further understand the mechanism involved in China’s and the Eu’s collaboration to combat international crime. From this, it will be shown how this collaboration influences China’s domestic anti-corruption campaign.
This study could therefore provide a perspective on China’s and the EU(‘s collaboration in the fight against international crime, and into the relation of China’s authoritarian domestic politics with regard to the cooperation between China and the EU. It will also give insights into the workings of China’s juridical system.
The hypothesis of this research is that China’s anti-corruption campaign since 2015 has benefited from EU-China cooperation with respect to the fight against transnational crime. Based on criminological and political theory, this study uses China’s “Skynet” campaign as case study, will archive analysis on China’s government reports, as will use interviews with China’s political and legal officials.

Key Words: transnational crime, anti-corruption campaign, “Skynet” operation

Authors

• YANG LI, Doctoral Researcher at the Ghent University

• Ruoqi Zhang, Institute for International Research on Criminal Policy, Ghent Univeristy