Efforts intensified to foster businesses

China has stepped up efforts to protect the rights of State-owned, private and foreign businesses, helping boost entrepreneur confidence and fostering a healthier business environment, officials from the Supreme People's Procuratorate said on Tuesday.

Last year, more than 40,000 people were prosecuted for crimes disrupting market order, a 21 percent increase from the previous year, said Ge Xiaoyan, deputy procurator-general of the Supreme People's Procuratorate. More than 3,000 were charged with duty-related crimes in State-owned enterprises.

Meanwhile, over 10,000 people were prosecuted for internal corruption crimes within private enterprises involving abuse of professional power, a 25 percent year-on-year increase, Ge said.

"Prosecutors have prioritized safeguarding enterprises in high-tech industries with key and core technologies. More than 200 individuals were indicted for commercial espionage in such enterprises, a 34 percent surge from the previous year," she said.

To improve the business environment, prosecutors have intensified crackdowns on organized crimes targeting businesses, focusing on offenses such as illegal high-interest lending, market bullying and coercive trading, Ge said.

"Misconduct by judicial personnel, such as using criminal measures to interfere with economic disputes, has also been targeted," she added.

Anti-corruption efforts have expanded in sectors with concentrated power and resources, including finance, State-owned enterprises, energy, infrastructure projects and bidding processes, officials said.

In 2024, prosecutors charged more than 1,200 people with abusing their positions in the financial sector and over 1,400 individuals with power abuse in the infrastructure sector, Ge said.

Authorities have also increased protections for intellectual property rights in key technologies and emerging industries. Routine oversight of malicious intellectual property litigation has been introduced to foster a more favorable innovation environment, she said.

From January to November 2024, prosecutors nationwide handled more than 3,900 civil, administrative and public interest litigation cases related to intellectual property rights, according to the Supreme People's Procuratorate.

Fighting corruption remains central to creating a healthy business environment, said Zhang Xiaojin, head of the procuratorate's division on duty crimes.

"Without a sound political environment, there cannot be a healthy relationship between government and business, nor a favorable environment for businesses to thrive," Zhang said.

Corruption contaminates the political system, disrupts the business climate and hinders high-quality development, he said. Some officials interfere in engineering projects, abuse approval authority for personal gain or collude with unscrupulous businessmen to seek improper benefits, undermining fair competition, he added.