China Reluctant To Join Anti-Money Laundering Bodies

by Mary Swire, Tax-News.com, Hong Kong

24 October 2001

According to reports, China is showing some reluctance to join with either the Asian or international anti-money laundering bodies, prompting fears that the international fight against money laundering may be slowed as a result.

Since the September 11th attacks, the United States has been pushing for greater co-operation between the 21 members of the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation forum (APEC), the Asia Pacific Group on Money Laundering (APG), and the Financial Action Task Force (FATF). However, according to a Reuters report, the money laundering issue was not discussed in any great detail at the APEC annual summit recently, with leaders simply urging member countries to take: 'appropriate financial measures to stop the flow of funds to terrorists.'

China in particular is said to be wary of participation in either of the multilateral anti-money laundering groups because Taiwan, which is in dispute with the mainland over sovereignty issues, is already a member of the APG.

However, speaking to reporters, the Chinese Vice Minister of Finance, Jin Liqun, dismissed fears, giving the impression that it was only a matter of time before China came on board. 'We are ready to join the APG and FATF but there are a couple of issues we have to work out with major members of these two forums,' he explained. 'Once the problems are resolved, I think we can join right away.'

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