'11087 Qinqing in Zhejiang' project helps companies avoid losses from crime
Contract fraud, bribery, misappropriation of funds … such economic crimes are seemingly faraway for most people, but they are actually within reach of some companies, inflicting damage to economic development.
Immediately reporting to police on discovering signs of criminal damage is definitely the most efficient way to avoid any loss. In Zhejiang Province, November is designated as the "Police Provide Services to Companies" month, during which police bureaus across the province host seminars in collaboration with tax, commerce, market administration and procuratorial departments, and visit companies to popularize legal knowledge and shed light on complaints.
Here is one called "11087 Qinqing in Zhejiang" project. Ever since the Zhejiang Public Security Department initiated the project in 2021, government departments have avoided and recovered 4.4 billion yuan (US$616.1 million) in economic losses.
On November 15, the provincial police department announced in Hangzhou that police bureaus across Zhejiang have filed around 1,400 cases against 1,800 criminal suspects this year, involving contract fraud, bribery, misappropriation of funds and infringement of intellectual property rights.
So far, police officers have visited 3,889 companies in the province and dealt with 8,847 affairs. In a bid to promote the project among more enterprises, they have hosted livestreaming events periodically, which totally gathered 600,000 hits online.
Police officers and executives of local companies hold a face-to-face meeting on November 18 at the Tanghui Subdistrict service station in Jiaxing City, Zhejiang Province.
The project aims to provide a much-needed shot in the arm for optimizing the business environment. This year, company-related crimes dropped 18 percent and workplace accidents were down 33 percent year on year, proving the project's impact to some degree.
The number "110" commonly stands for the police, while the "87" sounds similarly to Chinese characters of "帮企," which literally means "helping companies."
President Xi Jinping initiated the concept of a "qinqing" government-business relationship in 2016. The name literally means "close and clear," implying that governments should coordinate operations with private companies but must eliminate abuse of power.
About 270 offline service stations and 100 online service stations have been established across Zhejiang so far. These stations integrate the police service with the tax, commerce, market administration, procuratorial departments and legal assistance agencies, offering services covering legal consultation, legal aid and mediation, among others.
In Zhejiang's northernmost Jiaxing City, the Jiaxing Jingkai Public Security Bureau has established a service station in Tanghui Subdistrict. On November 18, about 50 local enterprises were invited to the service station to have a face-to-face meeting with police officers.
"What companies want to know is how to avoid economic loss if economic crimes take place. For us, we want to know their difficulties in running business. The service station has built a bridge between companies and government departments, giving a boost to our work efficiency," said Xiao Wei, vice chief of the Jiaxing Jingkai Public Security Bureau's criminal investigation brigade.
A visitor uses a self-help system at the Tanghui Subdistrict service station.
This year, the bureau has avoided 4 million yuan in economic loss for local companies, involving making out false value-added tax invoices, fund misappropriation, contract fraud and commercial bribery.
Such service stations are considered a further exploration of the government's "one-visit service."
The so-called "one-visit" literally means residents need to make no more than one trip to a government department to handle affairs.
Zhejiang officially started the reform in 2017 to optimize the official working process to solve people's prominent problems. Cities across the province have figured out various ways to resolve grassroots affairs.
Some cities have launched their own system that integrates the services of different government departments and placed them all under one roof at government administrative centers.
The "11087 Qinqing in Zhejiang" project is believed to be an initiative in the field of "one-visit service" for economic security.
In Hangzhou's Binjiang District, authorities have organized a professional criminal compliance association in efforts to build a favorable environment for business. It is the first association of its kind in China.
A group of local companies has established a criminal compliance internal control system in collaboration with the district.
The essence of criminal compliance is to help companies efficiently deal with difficulties and relevant practices of anti-business bribe, control criminal risks and improve their ability to prevent relevant risks in complex economic circumstances.
It is a type of cooperative mechanism integrating supervision, restriction and stimulation.
