Tong Jianming, First Deputy Prosecutor General of the Supreme People's Procuratorate (SPP) of China, met with Jose de la Mata Amaya, Vice-President of the European Union Agency for Criminal Justice Cooperation (Eurojust), in Beijing on July 22.
On behalf of the SPP and its Prosecutor General Ying Yong, Tong extended a warm welcome to de la Mata and his delegation. He noted that China and the European Union are comprehensive strategic partners, with close exchanges and cooperation across various levels and fields that have yielded fruitful results.
He highlighted that the China-EU relationship has become one of the most influential bilateral relationships in the world, contributing significantly to enhancing the well-being of their peoples, as well as promoting world peace and development.
Noting this year marks the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and the EU, Tong emphasized that both sides have had frequent high-level exchanges, and in particular, President Xi Jinping exchanged congratulations with European Council President Antonio Costa and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen in May, injecting strong momentum into the development of China-EU relations.
He noted that cooperation and exchanges in the field of criminal justice are an integral part of the comprehensive strategic partnership between China and the EU.
As the Chinese organization responsible for external liaison for 16 criminal judicial assistance treaties and the contact point of Eurojust in China, the SPP is willing to take this visit as an opportunity to share working experiences with Eurojust, deepen pragmatic cooperation in the judicial field, and enrich the connotation of the China-EU comprehensive strategic partnership, Tong said.
Tong briefed the EU guests about the main functions of Chinese procuratorial organs and their work. He said that, as per China's Constitution and laws, Chinese procuratorial organs serve as the national legal supervision body and the judicial body ensuring the unified and correct implementation of the law, independently and impartially exercising procuratorial powers in accordance with the law.
In judicial practice, Chinese procuratorates adhere to the absolute leadership of the Communist Party of China and fulfill various legal supervision responsibility in accordance with the law, making important contributions to upholding judicial justice, safeguarding people's well-being, promoting the construction of a law-based government, and protecting public interests, he said.
Tong noted that with the closer economic, trade, cultural and people-to-people exchanges between China and the EU, transnational crimes are on the rise. Chinese procuratorates stand ready to further strengthen communication and coordination with Eurojust, and by deepening mutual trust and improving mechanisms, enhance effectiveness in bilateral judicial cooperation in combating transnational crimes and jointly safeguarding social harmony and stability, and ensure the healthy and sustainable development of China-EU ties, he added.
De la Mata expressed gratitude to Tong for the warm reception, highlighting that the EU attaches great importance to strategic cooperation with China in criminal justice.
He expressed his confidence that through deepening practical cooperation and sharing experiences, both sides can jointly address challenges posed by new types of crimes in the era of globalization and actively contribute to building a safer and more just international environment conducive to upholding the rule of law.
