Xinhua reported on November 16, 2016, that the US had agreed to the repatriation of 70-year old Yang Xiuzhu. A former Deputy Director of the Construction Bureau of China's Zhejiang Province and Vice Mayor of Wenzhou City, she fled China in April 2003 after being accused of 'stealing' US$ 39 million. She fled to the US in May 2014. Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Geng Shuang said "Yang's return is a major achievement in China-US law enforcement cooperation on anti-corruption." Geng Shuang added that China and the United States communicated and cooperated through a Joint Liaison Group on law enforcement cooperation.