AKIPRESS.COM - Canada and China have agreed to hold negotiations on a possible mutual extradition treaty, according to statements posted to the websites of both governments, reports The Two-Way.

Such agreement would be the first between China and Canada. The U.S., Britain and Australia have all resisted China's efforts to establish similar legal agreements, citing judicial corruption and torture of prisoners.

Australia has cited China's use of the death penalty as one reason for not ratifying an extradition treaty that was signed in 2007 but has never gone into effect.

In 2006, Spain became the first European country to ratify an extradition agreement with China, according to Library of Congress Global Legal Monitor. Just today, France announced it is carrying out its first deportation to China under that country's extradition agreement.

According to the joint communique posted online by the office of Canada's prime minister, Justin Trudeau, leaders of both countries met to discuss such an agreement when the prime minister visited China a few weeks ago. After Trudeau returned to Canada, one of his national security advisers met in Beijing with China's leader of Central Political and Legal Affairs in what the statement called the "inaugural meeting" of a group meant to discuss a range of national security issues.

Among the short-term objectives of that group is a potential extradition treaty between the two countries. Canada and China are also negotiating a one-year plan in which Chinese officials would be invited to help Canada identify people for deportation.