By Bill Savadove

Throwing up a potential obstacle to a growing international campaign against money-laundering, China said on Thursday it needed to resolve certain issues before joining international agencies that fight dirty-money flows. Chinese officials declined to spell out the issues, but sources attending meetings of the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum in Shanghai said they had to do with Beijing's rivalry with Taiwan.

Since the September 11 attacks on the United States, Washington has made money-laundering and the hunt for sources of terrorist funding a key part of its campaign against terrorism. The United States has pushed for the 21-member APEC grouping to develop closer ties to the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) and the Asia/Pacific Group (APG) on Money Laundering (APG). But a draft of a statement that APEC leaders intend to issue after their annual summit this weekend makes no specific reference to money-laundering or to the two organizations.

Instead the leaders will urge "appropriate financial measures to stop the flow of funds to terrorists," according to a draft obtained by Reuters. "We are ready to join APG and FATF but there are a couple of issues we have to work out with major members of these two forums. Once the problems are resolved, I think we can join right away," China's vice minister of finance, Jin Liqun, told reporters. He declined to elaborate but APEC sources said China has balked at joining the APG because Taiwan, which Beijing considers a renegade province, is already a member.

ONE STANDARD?

China also said it wanted a single standard for all countries in the fight against money-laundering. "Basically we do not have one standard. We hope all responsible members can use one standard to combat terrorists and money-laundering problems," Jin said. He did not say what that standard should be.

APEC finance ministers had recommended economic leaders call for cooperation to "vigorously" track down terrorists' assets and intercept their transfers, but that wording has also been omitted from the draft statement that leaders will be asked to endorse. Despite the hiccups, Russian Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov said APEC foreign ministers had "agreed about practical measures to establish control on the financial flows which could nourish terrorist activity in its various forms."

And Jin said China supported combating money-laundering. "We in China have also attached great importance to anti-money-laundering. We have done a lot to cooperate with other members in this region and across the world," he said.

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