BEIJING - A Foreign Ministry spokesperson on Friday said that the repatriation of Yang Jinjun, one of China's most wanted economic fugitives, showed progress in China-US anti-graft cooperation.

"China appreciates the US cooperation in this [investigation]," spokesperson Hong Lei told a regular press briefing.

Yang, suspected of corruption and bribery, is the first of the 100 persons on the "red notice" to be repatriated to China from the US since China's "Sky Net" operation was launched in April.

The Sky Net anti-graft operation named 100 economic crime suspects who were evading arrest by hiding abroad.

The repatriation of Yang shows that China's operation is gaining more and more support from the international community, said Hong.

It also shows that China will do everything in its power to bring these people to justice, he added.

Yang's forced repatriation has laid the ground work for future US-China cooperation in this regard, said Hong.

The US is a popular destination for Chinese fleeing investigation, as the two countries do not have an extradition treaty.

However, Hong said there had been a move in recent years for law enforcement and judicial departments to coordinate on cross-border corruption cases.

Yang, who fled to the US in 2001, was the general manager of the Minghe Group in the eastern Chinese city of Wenzhou, according to the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection (CCDI).