A Study on China’s Corporate Crime Enforcement: An Emerging Reprieve Approach

China regulates the criminal behaviors of corporations through the “unite crime” provisions of the Criminal Code. The existing laws and theories are not ambiguous, but enforcement methods no longer serve the needs of Chinese society. This has had harmful collateral consequences for public interests, providing limited rights protection for entrepreneurs and having insufficient effects in promoting criminal compliance over the long term. Since 2018, China has been accepting restorative justice to resolve the problems in traditional methods, forming a new reprieve approach in dealing with corporate crimes. Judicial activities have been improved by encouraging bail for entrepreneurs and more property rights protections. Following this trend, there must be further law reforms that can develop China’s deferred prosecution agreement system and incentivize corporations to apply criminal compliance programs.