New initiative set for crackdown on gun, explosives crimes

China's latest crackdown on gun and explosives crimes aims to further curb the manufacturing, smuggling and online sale of firearms and explosives because such crimes remain prominent factors threatening public security, officials from the Ministry of Public Security said on Thursday.

The number of gun and explosives crimes in 2017 has dropped by more than 81 and 64 percent respectively since 2012, said Li Jingsheng, an official of the ministry's Public Order Administration Bureau, at a news conference in Beijing.

Together with 23 other departments, the ministry launched a campaign on Wednesday to intensify the crackdown on gun and explosives crimes. The campaign will last until the end of 2019.