Officials of the United States and China meet in August to discuss possible repatriation of Chinese officials who have been hiding in the US after stealing billions of dollars in Chinese government funds.

Officials from both countries have already met in the Philippines in January.  U.S. State Department's senior director for National Security and Diplomacy David Luna confirmed talks will resume in August.  It will be participated in by law enforcement officials and legal experts.

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The discussions will include sharing of intelligence on allegedly corrupt Chinese officials and ways on how to send the fugitives back to China.

But the discussions will not be easy, analysts said, as there is no extradition treaty between the U.S. and China.  Sources said this makes the U.S. a safe haven for corrupt Chinese officials fleeing the country.  

But U.S. officials stressed that there will always be alternatives to extradition, such as deportation for violating U.S. immigration laws.

Western countries have also been reluctant to send fugitives back to China over lack of transparency in their justice system.

Human rights advocates have criticized China for using torture as a tool to extract confessions among suspects.  Chinese government officials convicted of corruption had been sentenced to death.

The Chinese Foreign Ministry as well as China's anti-corruption agency have not given a statement on the matter.

Canada, which also does not have extradition treaty with China, recently expelled Chinese fugitives including Lai Changxing, a businessman charged with corruption.

Lai was sent back to China from Canada in 2011 -- on condition he won't be executed.  Lai was sentenced to life in prison.

China said over 150 "economic fugitives" are currently hiding in the U.S. There are still no details as to how much stolen money was smuggled out of China and into the U.S.

But a financial group tracking illicit financial flows from countries had estimated about $1.25 trillion cash had been stolen from China from 2003 to 2012.

TagsUS, economic fugitives