Ying Yong, Chief Grand Prosecutor and Prosecutor General of the Supreme People's Procuratorate of the People's Republic of China, deliveres a speech at the opening ceremony of the 13th China-ASEAN Prosecutors-General Conference.

Ying Yong, Chief Grand Prosecutor and Prosecutor General of the Supreme People's Procuratorate of the People's Republic of China, deliveres a keynote speech at the plenary session of the 13th China-ASEAN Prosecutors-General Conference.

Heads of procuratorial delegations from participating countries sign the Joint Statement of the 13th 13th China-ASEAN Prosecutors-General Conference.

The 13th China-ASEAN Prosecutors-General Conference was held in Hanoi, capital of Vietnam, on Dec 6 (local time), with the theme of strengthening international cooperation in preventing and combating high-tech and transnational crimes. A Chinese procuratorial delegation led by Ying Yong, Chief Grand Prosecutor and Prosecutor General of the Supreme People's Procuratorate of the People's Republic of China (SPP), attended the meeting.

In a speech delivered at the opening ceremony, Ying said that China and ASEAN member states are good neighbors and partners. Since the establishment of dialogue relations in 1991, political mutual trust between China and ASEAN countries has been continuously strengthened, economic and trade relations have deepened, and cooperation in various fields has been comprehensively promoted, paving a bright path of good-neighborly relations and win-win cooperation. Since its establishment in 2004, the mechanism of the China-ASEAN Prosecutors-General Conference has become an important platform for judicial and prosecutorial cooperation in Asia and even worldwide. The procuratorial organs of these countries have adhered to the principles of equal treatment, mutual benefit and win-win results, strengthened high-level visits, and carried out effective exchanges and cooperation in jointly combating transnational crimes, providing judicial assistance, and training prosecutors, playing an important role in promoting peace, stability, and prosperous development in the region.

This year marks the 20th anniversary of China's accession to the Treaty of Amity and Cooperation in Southeast Asia, as well as the 10th anniversary of President Xi Jinping's proposals to build a closer China-ASEAN community with a shared future and the Belt and Road Initiative. Chinese procuratorial organs will closely focus on the important consensus reached by President Xi and leaders of ASEAN countries, and work together with their counterparts of ASEAN countries to make greater contributions to the construction of a closer and more prosperous China-ASEAN community with a shared future.

In a keynote speech delivered at the plenary session, Ying noted that high-tech crimes are characterized by their specialized, intelligent, and concealing approaches, with the means constantly evolving and technical confrontation enhanced. In particular, more and more cross-border high-tech crimes are committed in cyberspace, featuring virtual organization and speedy implementation, and leading to difficulties in investigation and evidence collection, as well as difficulties in cross-border transfer and the mutual recognition of evidence. High-tech crimes and transnational crimes, as global governance challenges, have seriously infringed upon the legitimate rights and interests of citizens of various countries, and endangered regional economic development and social stability. China has always attached great importance to preventing and cracking down on such crimes and continuously improving the quality and efficiency of punishment and governance, including formulating and improving relevant laws, upholding effective crackdowns in accordance with the law, strengthening the recovery of criminal assets, and enhancing international law enforcement and judicial cooperation.

As the legal supervision organs of the country and the judicial organs that ensure the unified and correct implementation of the nation's laws, Chinese procuratorial organs hold important responsibilities in preventing and combating high-tech and transnational crimes. They have fulfilled their prosecutorial functions in lawfully prosecuting such crimes as internet-based crimes, smuggling, foreign-related drug crimes, and money laundering, as well as strengthening judicial protection of intellectual property rights in the high-tech field, according to Ying.

Ying said that the SPP has established 11 professional laboratories and a mechanism to invite scientific and technological personnel to assist in case handling. Chinese procuratorial organs have issued targeted prosecution recommendations to relevant national departments to prevent the recurrence of similar crimes. They have also strengthened international law enforcement and judicial cooperation, promoted the exchange and sharing of intelligence information, and fulfilled the obligations of criminal judicial assistance, forming a joint force to punish transnational crimes.

"Only by strengthening cooperation, can we meet challenges," Ying said. He stated that Chinese procuratorial organs will join hands with their counterparts of ASEAN countries to actively promote work in three aspects to jointly shoulder the task of combating and preventing crimes, and safeguard the national interests and people's well-being of each country. First, further opening up the channels for cooperation and taking effective joint measures to punish high-tech crimes and transnational crimes in accordance with the law, and on the basis of mutual respect for national sovereignty, judicial jurisdiction, and domestic laws of each country. Second, further improving cooperation efficiency in assisting cross-border investigation and evidence collection, the extradition of suspects, transfer of illicit money and goods, delivery of judicial documents, as well as exchange and sharing of information. Third, jointly organizing international seminars and training courses and leveraging the role of the China-ASEAN prosecutor exchange and training base to enhance the professional capabilities of prosecutors.

Before the closing of the meeting, which was hosted by the Supreme People's Procuratorate of Vietnam, the heads of procuratorial delegations from participating countries signed the Joint Statement of the 13th China-ASEAN Prosecutors-General Conference, fully affirming the importance of the conference in strengthening the joint efforts of prosecution agencies in ASEAN member countries and China in combating transnational crimes. They pledged to further strengthen cooperation in criminal judicial assistance, in the training of prosecutors and exchange of experts, sharing of legal documents and procuratorial information, and in the quick and effective combatting of transnational crimes, especially high-tech cross-border crimes, to ensure the peace, stability, security, and sustainable development of China and ASEAN member states.