China Compliance Update: Anti-Corruption — Spring 2026

Anti-corruption continued to be a major focus for Chinese regulators in 2026, with the Supreme People’s Court publishing its first new judicial interpretations of China’s corruption and bribery regulations in a decade. Official statistics provided further evidence of regulators’ continued emphasis on both administrative and criminal anti-corruption enforcement.

New Judicial Interpretation on Corruption and Bribery

On April 10, 2026, China’s Supreme People’s Court (SPC) and Supreme People’s Procuratorate (SPP) issued the Interpretation on Several Issues Concerning the Application of Law in Handling Criminal Cases of Corruption and Bribery (II) (Interpretation (II), 关于办理贪污贿赂刑事案件适用法律若干问题的解释（二）), which will come into effect on May 1, 2026. This is a significant development, with the prior interpretation of the criminal law of bribery released by the SPC and SPP in 2016. It also follows a series of other developments in China’s anti-corruption regulatory framework, including revisions to the PRC Criminal Law, Anti-Unfair Competition Law, and Supervision Law.¹

The Interpretation (II) provides further clarifications of the provisions of China’s Criminal Law that relate to crimes of corruption, with a focus on crimes in the private sector and “entity crimes,” meaning crimes that carry liability for companies, public institutions, government agencies, and other organizations.

Lowered Thresholds For Non-State Functionaries

One of the key elements of the Interpretation (II) is lowering the monetary thresholds for four crimes relating to non-state functionaries, bringing the thresholds for these crimes in line with the thresholds for similar crimes relating to state functionaries. “State functionaries” is a term referring not only to government officials, but which also includes other individuals who perform public duties in state-owned enterprises and public institutions.²

According to Article 8 of the Interpretation (II):

• The standards for conviction and sentencing for Accepting Bribes by Non-State Functionaries (非国家工作人员受贿罪, Article 163) shall be the same as the standards for Accepting Bribes (受贿罪).³ The monetary thresholds of this crime were previously two to five times higher than the thresholds for Accepting Bribes.
• The standards for conviction and sentencing of Offering Bribes to Non-State Functionaries (对非国家工作人员行贿罪, Article 164) shall be the same as the standards for Offering Bribes (行贿罪) and Offering Bribes by Entities (单位行贿罪).⁴ The monetary thresholds for these crimes were originally two times higher than the thresholds for Offering Bribes.
• The monetary thresholds for Embezzlement (职务侵占罪, Article 271) and Misappropriation of Funds (挪用资金罪, Article 272) were also lowered to align with those of Corruption (贪污罪) and Misappropriation of Public Funds (挪用公款罪). The elements of these crimes are the same, although the latter two offenses refer to conduct by state functionaries.
• Notably, Article 8 also requires a comprehensive overview of the nature and circumstances of the crimes when dealing with crimes relating to non-state functionaries, in order to ensure that the crimes, liabilities, and sentencing are proportionate.

These adjustments to the interpretation of the Criminal Law are intended to provide private companies the same level of legal protection as government agencies and state-owned enterprises, in order to ensure a positive business environment. This is consistent with recent enforcement and legislative trends for Chinese regulators.⁵ For example, the 12th Amendment to the Criminal Law, which took effect on March 1, 2024, expanded the scope of application of three crimes of corruption, which previously were limited to individuals from state-owned enterprises, to include individuals from the private sector.

Revised Standards For Entity Crimes and Key Sectors

The Interpretation (II) also clarifies the judicial standards for conviction and sentencing for entity crimes relating to corruption. Article 2 of Interpretation (II) states the following regarding the crime of Offering Bribes to Entities (对单位行贿罪, Article 391):

• The monetary thresholds increase from RMB 100,000 (US$14,286) to RMB 200,000 (US$28,571) for crimes committed by individuals and from RMB 200,000 (US$28,571) to RMB 400,000 (US$57,142) for crimes committed by entities.
• Clarifies that the monetary thresholds for “serious conditions” under the Criminal Law are RMB 2,000,000 (US$285,714) for crimes committed by individuals and RMB 4,000,000 (US$571,428) for crimes committed by entities.

Articles 2 and 4 of the Interpretation (II) also flag multiple key sectors for which the monetary thresholds for crimes of corruption will be lowered, including finance, food and drug, social security (including the state-run medical insurance program), and healthcare, among others.

• The monetary thresholds of Offering Bribes to Entities are RMB 100,000 (US$14,286) for crimes committed by individuals, and RMB 200,000 (US$28,571) for crimes committed by entities within these key sectors. The monetary thresholds in all other sectors are RMB 200,000 (US$28,571) for crimes committed by individuals, and RMB 400,000 (US$57,142) for crimes committed by entities as discussed above.
• The monetary thresholds of Offering Bribes by Entities are RMB 100,000 (US$14,286) within these key sectors, while the monetary thresholds for all other sectors are RMB 200,000 (US$28,571).

These provisions highlight the regulators’ heightened focus on these key sectors. This interpretation is also consistent with the revisions in the 12th Amendment to the Criminal Law, that misconduct in these key sectors will be considered as aggravating factors for the crime of Offering Bribes and subject to more severe penalties. 

Anti-Corruption Enforcement

Enforcement data published by regulators further highlighted the government’s continued focus on anti-corruption:

• The SPC reported on March 16, 2026 that Chinese courts nationwide adjudicated 36,000 cases (40,000 individuals) relating to duty-related crimes⁶ in 2025, representing a 22.4% year-on-year increase.
• The SPP reported on March 16, 2026 that in 2025, disciplinary inspection commissions at all levels transferred cases implicating 30,500 individuals to procuratorates for criminal investigation, representing at 10.8% year-on-year increase. Among these cases, 29,000 individuals were eventually prosecuted, representing a 20.5% year-on-year increase.
• The Central Commission for Discipline Inspection of the Communist Party of China (CCDI) reported on April 23, 2026 that in the first quarter of 2026, commissions for discipline inspection nationwide initiated 245,000 investigations into government officials for corruption-related issues.

Chinese regulators also continued to emphasize enforcement against both paying and accepting bribes, as reflected in enforcement data published by the SPC, SPP, and CCDI:

• In 2025, Chinese courts adjudicated 2,724 cases (3,235 individuals) of paying bribes, representing a 10.1% year-on-year increase. Chinese procuratorates prosecuted 3,292 individuals for paying bribes, representing a 7.3% year-on-year increase.
• In the first quarter of 2026, commissions for discipline inspection nationwide initiated investigations into 9,066 individuals for paying bribes, 983 of which were transferred to procuratorates for criminal investigation.

For questions on this or any other subject, please reach out to the authors or any of their colleagues in Arnold & Porter’s White Collar Defense & Investigations practice group.

* Zhewen Zhang contributed to this Blog.

© Arnold & Porter Kaye Scholer LLP 2026 All Rights Reserved. This Advisory is intended to be a general summary of the law and does not constitute legal advice. You should consult with counsel to determine applicable legal requirements in a specific fact situation.