China Focus: China's tough crackdown on crimes ensures public security, quality development

BEIJING, March 9 (Xinhua) -- China maintained a tough stance against various crimes in the past year and pledged to continue that momentum into the new year, according to the country's top judiciary officials.

Chief Justice Zhang Jun and Procurator-general Ying Yong on Monday submitted the work reports of the Supreme People's Court (SPC) and the Supreme People's Procuratorate (SPP), respectively, to the national legislature's annual session for review.

According to the reports, punishment has been imposed on diehard "Taiwan independence" separatists in accordance with China's Anti-Secession Law for the crimes of secession and inciting secession in a bid to safeguard national sovereignty, unity and territorial integrity.

Over the past year, Chinese courts intensified regularized efforts to root out organized crimes while cracking down on criminal gangs tied to clans and family networks in rural areas and those who protect them, the SPC report said.

Courts in the country concluded trials in about 46,000 serious violent criminal cases in 2025, down 7.3 percent from a year earlier.

Prosecutors nationwide brought charges against around 54,000 suspects involved in murder, robbery, kidnapping and other serious violent crimes last year. Nearly 10,000 suspects of organized crime were also indicted.

Both the top court and the top procuratorate pledged to step up the crackdown on serious violent crimes and improve the regularized mechanisms to combat organized crimes in 2026.

In 2025, China hit hard on cross-border telecom fraud, prosecuting 285 people over suspected crimes of fraud, intentional homicide, and intentional injury targeting Chinese citizens under the shelter of criminal gangs operating in northern Myanmar, said the SPP report.

"Safety is the foundation for development and what people hope for," said Huang Hailong, president of the High People's Court of Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region in south China.

Huang, also a national lawmaker, said that judicial authorities are focusing on new features and trends of serious violent crimes to effectively prevent risks, and ensure security and stability.

SAFEGUARD DEVELOPMENT

According to the work reports, the judiciary played its role in strengthening the legal guarantees to support and sustain the country's development.

For example, the SPC report said the courts have been committed to safeguarding the order of the capital market and promoting its high-quality development over the past year.

Courts across the country concluded about 25,000 cases concerning securities, futures, and funds in 2025, an increase of 53.6 percent from a year earlier, it said.

China has also strengthened judicial protection of intellectual property rights (IPRs) as part of its broader push for sci-tech self-reliance and strength.

Courts imposed penalties on about 19,000 individuals for IPR infringement crimes in 2025, marking a year-on-year increase of 6.2 percent, according to the SPC report.

Peng Shou, an academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering and a national legislator, said that judicial authorities have continued to strengthen IPR protection to build a legal barrier for China to make breakthroughs in core technologies in key fields and develop new quality productive forces.

In an effort to address corruption in key sectors, procuratorates prosecuted 9,174 individuals last year for duty-related crimes in the financial sector, state-owned enterprises and the energy sector.

In addition, China has effectively implemented the Anti-Foreign Sanctions Law and taken strong countermeasures against illegal sanctions and long-arm jurisdiction, according to the SPC.

Around 159,000 foreign-related cases had been concluded from 2021 to 2025, up 66 percent from the previous five years, the top court said.

Chi Rida, a Shanghai-based lawyer and a national political advisor, called for further efforts to boost coordination and precision in tackling economic and financial crimes, apply new technologies, and uproot the conditions that breed disorder in the economic and financial sectors. ■