Nation's crime rate touched record low last year

The number of criminal cases filed by Chinese police declined 12.8 percent in 2025 compared with the previous year, hitting a new low since the turn of the century, according to data released by the Ministry of Public Security on Thursday, two days ahead of Chinese People's Police Day.

Serious violent crimes and abductions dropped 4.7 percent and 40.7 percent, respectively, while other offenses such as theft, robbery and fraud, dropped 21.2 percent year-on-year, the ministry said.

A social and livelihood report from the National Bureau of Statistics in September also showed that in recent years, China has maintained good public security and social order, with a continuous decline in criminal offenses, making it one of the countries with the lowest crime rates. Since 2020, the public's sense of security has remained at a high level of over 98 percent for five consecutive years, it said.

Zhang Ming, a spokeswoman for the Ministry of Public Security, said that telecom and online frauds have been effectively curbed through intense crackdowns in the past year, with 258,000 related cases being solved and 542 key figures behind fraud rings being arrested.

In addition, public security organs, in collaboration with other departments, intercepted 3.6 billion fraudulent calls and 3.3 billion scam text messages, and conducted emergency fund freezes totaling 217.07 billion yuan ($31.1 billion). Police officers carried out face-to-face dissuasion with potential victims 6.75 million times.

Recently, public security organs in multiple cities placed 100 fugitives, including key members of telecom fraud gangs, on a public wanted list, demonstrating their resolve to severely punish such crimes, Zhang added.

To further curb telecom fraud, authorities have tightened border and port controls and accelerated efforts to build an international alliance against telecom and online fraud. The ministry has also sent multiple police task forces to Myanmar, Thailand, Cambodia and other countries for law enforcement cooperation. Over 7,600 Chinese suspects involved in telecom fraud in Myanmar's Myawaddy area have so far been repatriated to China.

Chen Zhi, a Chinese national identified as the ringleader of a major cross-border gambling and fraud syndicate, was the latest to be escorted back to China from Phnom Penh, Cambodia, on Wednesday.

On Thursday, the ministry said that Chen's syndicate is suspected of multiple crimes, including running illegal gambling operations, committing fraud, engaging in illegal business activities and concealing criminal proceeds.

The ministry said in a statement that public security authorities will soon issue a wanted notice for the first group of core members of Chen's syndicate, and vowed to bring all fugitives to justice. Other suspects involved in the case have been urged to surrender voluntarily in exchange for lenient treatment.

Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning said on Thursday that combating online gambling and telecom fraud is a shared international responsibility. She said that China has strengthened law enforcement cooperation with Cambodia and other countries to crack down on cross-border telecom fraud, yielding notable results.

China stands ready to further intensify law enforcement cooperation with neighboring countries, including Cambodia, she added.

yangzekun@chinadaily.com.cn