This should be interesting. Picture: Getty Images

When Chinese president Xi Jinping meets with US president Barack Obama at the White House this week, some tension is to be expected.

The global powerhouses are at odds on several of the big issues that must be addressed, such as China’s South China Sea ambitions, human rights and cyber warfare. Other issues, such as climate change and economic ructions, will have the two walking on more common ground.

But perhaps the most delicately handled chat will come when someone finally broaches the subject of Xi’s quest to bring corrupt officials and businesspeople home from the US to be tried in China. And maybe, specifically, one man.

Ling Wancheng could in some ways be seen as China’s Ed Snowden. He’s certainly desperately wanted by China’s Central Commission for Discipline Inspection and the reason why makes him wanted arguably in equal measure by the US government.

In the past year or two, China has significantly ramped up its crackdown on corruption at home. “Operation Fox Hunt” takes that search for economic fugitives international, and in April, the CCDI posted a top 100 wanted list. 40 were in the US.

To some onlookers, the fact that Ling was not among those 40 could be for two reasons – a) it’s not 100 per certain he’s in the US, or b) he’s a bigger problem.

Who is Ling Wancheng?

Many things. Successful businessman, journalist, a noted amateur golf champion.

All that matters to President Xi though is that he is the youngest of five siblings from a very prominent political family from Shanxi province. Two of his elder brothers were members of the Communist Party of China, until recently, when they were expelled.

All three brothers have been under investigation for corruption at various stages since June, 2014.

Where is he?

Ling Wancheng is believed to have fled to the US sometime after the announcement in June 2014 that his brother Ling Zhengce would be investigated for “serious violations of laws and regulations” of the Communist Party.

The earliest reports that he might be in the US were tied to his purchase of a 724 square metre home in California, which he reportedly bought off NBA player Beno Udrih for US$2.5 million. But his new neighbour told media outlets he hadn’t seen Ling or his wife since October 2014.

The New York Times reports “several American officials” have confirmed that Ling is in the United States.

Why does Xi fear him so much?

It’s actually more to do with Ling’s brothers than Ling.

The other brother under investigation, Ling Jihua, rose to become former Chinese president Hu Jintao’s personal secretary and protege. But in 2012, his son was driving a black Ferrari when it crashed and he and one of two women in the car with him were killed. Ling Jihua tried to cover up the incident (there was talk of all three being “scantily clad”) and the attention it drew him led to the corruption allegation and accusations he had “accepted huge bribes”.

REUTERS/Jason Lee Ling Jihua was vice chairman of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference in Beijing, 2013.

One of Ling Jihua’s alleged crimes is that he obtained “a great deal of the party and state’s core secrets”. He is believed to have passed “a significant amount of classified and top secret information” to Ling Wancheng as leverage.

The problem is, officials don’t know exactly what or how much Ling Wangcheng knows about the Communist Party’s inner workings, or even if he’s willing to share it. But there’s another possible motive for China’s alleged desperation, and desire to handle this all on the lowdown – Ling may have a list of Chinese spies on foreign soil.

In a recent article, the New York Times suggested that if Ling sought political asylum, “he could become one of the most damaging defectors in the history of the People’s Republic”.

How badly is he wanted?

Duowei News, a US-based Chinese political news outlet, claims Beijing and Washington have been through “months” of secret negotiations over Ling.

If Ling does indeed know the locations of Chinese spies, and he’s repatriated to the US, Washington will no doubt see that as a huge strategic advantage, and start using it to, according to WantChinaTimes, develop “targeted policies against China”.

Here’s what Slate’s Joshua Keating had to say about that possibility last month:

“The Obama administration is reportedly in search of ways to retaliate for China’s ongoing hacking of US systems, including the alleged theft of millions of Americans’ personal data from the Office of Personnel Management last month “It’s not clear what [Wancheng] knows, but given what’s happened to his family over the past year, he certainly has a motive for spilling the beans, and will likely find a receptive audience.”

Earlier this month, Xi reportedly dispatched Meng Jianzhu, secretary of the Central Political and Legal Affairs Commission, to meet with US Secretary of Homeland Security Jeh Johnson, FBI director James Comey and National Security Advisor Susan Rice. According to Duowei’s sources, he made this offer:

First, Chinese authorities will forgo chasing down all the illegal assets he has stashed away in the United States, which is said to total around US$600 million. Second, China will agree to take back 25,000 illegal immigrants living in the US.

Wancheng reportedly bought this home off former Sacramento Kings player Beno Udrih. Picture: Google Earth

Has the US found him?

Only the Department of Homeland Security knows the answer to that question. It seems to be taking a hands-off approach to news Chinese authorities are on US soil actively seeking Ling, yet involved in a tense race to see who can catch him first.

US citizen Tommy Yuan told the Wall Street Journal that he was visited several times back in June by “representatives of the Chinese government”. They specifically chose Yuan because his ex-wife, Jane Zhang, may have married Ling.

Around the same time, Ling’s former neighbours in California said Homeland Security “agents” came around asking about him.

Since then, no news, so maybe Ling has already been caught.

When the presidents of the two countries meet for the first time on US soil tomorrow, maybe we’ll find out.

Business Insider Emails & Alerts Site highlights each day to your inbox. Email Address Join

Follow Business Insider Australia on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and Instagram.