China's Ministry of Public Security announced on Monday that 288 fugitives suspected of graft have been arrested as part of Operation Fox Hunt, an aggressive anti-corruption drive launched by Chinese President Xi Jinping.

Operation Fox Hunt targets corrupt government officials who have fled abroad. As part of this worldwide hunt, China has conducted investigations in 56 countries, including the U.S., Canada, Spain, South Korea and South Africa. In addition, the Chinese government has given overseas corruption suspects until Dec. 1 to surrender. Those who surrender are likely to face reduced punishments.

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Since assuming the role of Chinese President last spring, Xi Jinping has displayed a strong commitment to root out corruption at all levels of Chinese society. As showcased by Statista, the number of registered corruption cases involving Communist Party officials has risen considerably in the last two years. According to BBC, "more than 13,000 Chinese officials were found guilty of corruption and bribery in the first nine months of 2014 alone."

Earlier this month, Asia Pacific countries agreed to establish an international anti-corruption transparency network. The 21 member states of APEC announced in a statement that an informal network "for sharing information" called ACT-NET (APEC Network of Anti-Corruption Authorities and Law Enforcement Agencies) will be set up, and hosted by China.

This includes an agreement to promote transnational cooperation amongst the anti-corruption and law enforcement authorities of member nations. The “Beijing Declaration on Fighting Corruption," spearheaded by China and firmly backed by the U.S., pledges to "deny safe haven to those engaged in corruption, including through extradition, mutual legal assistance and the recovery and return of proceeds of corruption." It also promises to "establish measures and systems to protect whistleblowers."

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"We believe that this cooperation is a major step forward," said U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry of the agreement. "Corruption not only creates an unfair playing field, it not only distorts economic relationships, but corruption also steals from the people of every country the belief that the system can work for everybody," he explained.

However, it is not yet clear how global enforcement would take place, considering China does not have bilateral extradition treaties with major destinations for Chinese emigrants such as the U.S., Canada and Australia. These countries have historically refused to participate in bilateral extradition agreements with China, partly due to concerns about the fact that corruption charges are often met with the death penalty in China.

Australian police, on the other hand, have explicitly agreed to assist China in the extradition and seizure of assets of corrupt Chinese officials, according to Reuters.

Reach Staff Reporter Adi Radia here. Follow him on Twitter here.