China widely recognized as one of the safest countries in the world: public security official

China, which has maintained one of the lowest incidences of fatal criminal cases, the lowest rates of criminal offenses, and the fewest cases involving firearms and explosives, is widely recognized as one of the safest countries in the world, a senior Chinese public security official said at a press conference on Wednesday.

Qi Yanjun, vice minister of public security, made the remarks at the conference. He said that public security organs have helped facilitate China's high-quality development by resolutely safeguarding public safety, according to the Xinhua News Agency.

Also, Chinese police handled 1.739 million telecom fraud cases and arrested 366,000 suspects, including 3,442 major financiers and core members of the crime groups, during the 14th Five-Year Plan period (2021-25), senior police officer Jiang Guoli said at the press conference, Xinhua reported.

Public security organs have arrested 366,000 suspects, including 3,442 key figures in fraud syndicates, through special operations. These campaigns targeted criminal networks providing illegal services - such as online traffic promotion, money laundering, tech support, and human smuggling - for overseas fraud groups, a report by CCTV News said.

China has also continuously deepened international law enforcement cooperation and has sent specialized teams to countries such as Thailand, Cambodia, and the Philippines to carry out police cooperation, according to the conference, CCTV reported. 

Joint actions have led to the dismantling of more than 2,000 overseas fraud dens and the arrest of over 80,000 criminal suspects. These efforts have significantly deterred transnational criminal fraud networks and effectively curbed the high incidence of cross-border telecom and cyber fraud crimes.

According to data released by China's Ministry of Public Security, during the 14th Five-Year Plan period, Chinese police smashed over 590 organized crime groups and more than 8,900 violent criminal organizations, and solved around 105,000 related criminal cases, Xinhua reported.