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Download Canada and China will take a tougher approach to transnational crimes, Canadian Foreign Minister John Baird said Thursday. The two countries concluded negotiations on a deal called the Agreement of Sharing of Forfeited Assets and the Return of Property before Baird wrapped up his two-day visit to Beijing. "We look forward to ensuring that Canadian and Chinese criminals do not use the Canadian-Chinese route to move their assets around," the foreign minister said. Once signed and approved, the landmark agreement may enable one country to get money back if a fugitive transfers illegal assets to the other country. The two countries are "working harder to get greater cooperation on security" to deal with transnational crimes, human smuggling and human trafficking, Baird said. The move is a further development of the Canada-China Joint Statement of December 2009 and the Joint List of Outcomes of February 2017. Both countries must now complete their internal processes for signing and ratifying the agreement before it takes effect, according to a news release from Canada. Canadian law requires that a formal asset-sharing agreement with a foreign state must be signed and effective before any forfeited proceeds of a crime can be shared with that country. The foreign minister arrived in Beijing on Wednesday after the two countries finished their studies on a possible bilateral free trade agreement. | 
