The United States government said that it will not bow down to pressure from the Chinese government in the latter's efforts to expartriate fugitives hiding in the US.

However, they cannot offer assurances that some of the refugees have not been coerced to surrender.

Yang Xiuzhu, China's most wanted corruption suspect, surrendered and returned to China a week ago, in what is seen as a major victory for the ruling Communist Party in its quest to capture fugitive officials.

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Beijing has embarked on a search operation called "Operation Fox Hunt" for corrupt former government officials and business moguls who are hiding abroad with their assets.

The operation is being touted as part of Chinese President Xi Jinping's single minded efforts to fight graft.

Speaking under the conditions of anonymity, a US official in Beijing said that they had been clear with Beijing that they will not bow down to pressure.

"We have made it clear that we will not tolerate any pressure being placed on family members or otherwise as a basis for return, but we can't always ascertain that that's been adhered to," he said.

Upon Yang's return, the Chinese government revealed that her family members had convinced her to surrender after senior members of the Chinese community in the United States also lobbied them.

Queried if the US government had any concerns over Yang's case, the official said that if they had any proof that Chinese authorities had violated the rules set, the US would have not allowed the expatriation to go forward.

In April last year, China released a list of its most wanted corruption suspects.

The country has irked western countries by sending undercover agents to try and pressure suspects to surrender, although the government says they quit the method after receiving complaints.

Tagschina, United States