Analysis: Why So Few People Are Found Not Guilty in China

The infinitesimal number of annual acquittals stems partly from a common practice where judges convict defendants with lighter sentences in cases that don’t strictly meet the threshold for conviction

Data released Sunday by China’s Supreme People’s Procuratorate showed that 418 individuals were acquitted or found not criminally liable in public prosecution cases in 2024.

New data from China’s top prosecuting body shows that the country’s criminal acquittal rate remains exceptionally low — a phenomenon legal experts attribute to a risk-averse approach taken by courts and an evaluation system that ties conviction rates to prosecutors’ performance.

In 2024, only 418 individuals were acquitted or found not criminally liable in public prosecution cases, accounting for 0.03% of all criminal cases brought forward by public prosecutors last year, according to data released by the Supreme People’s Procuratorate (SPP) on Sunday.