US warns China to stop ‘hunting foxes’ on American soil

It’s not just tigers and flies that Xi Jinping is going after – the Chinese government has also launched ‘Operation Fox Hunt,’ which targets wealthy Chinese nationals who have fled overseas.

Before it rolls out the red carpet for the Chinese president next month, the White House has asked China to stop the program, according to the New York Times.

Operation Fox Hunt uses undercover agents to pressure Chinese expats – often those who have escaped corruption charges with their allegedly ill-gotten gains – to return to the motherland.

Part of Xi’s anti-corruption drive, the campaign is reportedly popular with the Chinese public, and its successes – more than 930 suspects repatriated (including more than 70 who returned this year “voluntarily”) – have been trumpeted by state media and the Ministry of Public Security.

US officials, however, have raised concerns about the tactics employed by China’s fox hunters, which they say involve intimidation and threats to family members in China.