Business and the Risk of Crime in China

Abstract

This book analyses the results of a large scale victimisation survey, the United Nations International Crime against Business Survey (UNICBS), which was conducted by telephone in 2005-06 in Hong Kong, Shanghai, Shenzhen, and Xi’an (N=5,117). The survey measured common and non-conventional crime such as fraud, IP theft and corruption and followed a standardised format, making the results comparable with those from other parts of the world. The book also provides comprehensive background materials on crime and the criminal justice system in China.

This study is important because few crime surveys have been conducted with Chinese populations and it provides an understanding of some dimensions of crime in non-western societies. In addition, China is one of the fastest-growing economies in the world and it attracts a great amount of foreign investment; however, corruption and economic crimes are increasingly perceived as significant obstacles to good business practices. The UNICBS revealed lower levels of common crime against business than in industrialised countries, both in Hong Kong and the mainland. Corruption was rare in Hong Kong, but more frequent in mainland China, where it was, however, much lower than in central-eastern Europe and South Africa. Some of the key policy implications as well as the methodological problems and analytical limitations of this survey are discussed.

Keywords: China, victimisation survey, business crime, corruption