Shaanxi Province in northwest China has cracked down on more than 20,000 economic crimes in recent years, retrieving a loss of some 1.5 billion yuan (180 million US dollars), according to local police sources.

Shaanxi provincial police departments have gone to great lengths to resolve some high-profile crimes, including a few nationwide swindling cases, which may jeopardize the public interest and threaten social security.

Meanwhile, they also worked together to close seven cases of smuggling of cultural relics.

So far, some 39,700 precious cultural relics, dating from the Western Zhou Dynasty (1100 B.C.-771 B.C) to the Tang Dynasty (618- 907), have been recovered and over 7,000 suspects, including 218 people from overseas, were sued to be involved in the smuggling cases.

China's police units have been going all out in the fight against crime, but problems still remain, as some criminal suspects are still at large.

China will continue to beef up a nationwide drive to deal severely with criminals, Minister of Public Security Jia Chunwang said recently, adding that public security departments at all levels will focus on reinforcing grassroots units and setting up a contract system for police units in the next couple of years. (Xinhua)