A Comparative Analysis of the Concept of Economic Crimes and Legal Liability in the Commercial Law of China and Uzbekistan
Keywords:
economic crime; commercial law; comparative law; legal liability; China; Uzbekistan; Belt and Road Initiative; corporate criminal liability; commercial compliance; UNCACAbstract
Under the Belt and Road Initiative, deepening economic ties between China and Uzbekistan have made legal compatibility in the field of economic crime a practical concern for commercial actors. This article compares the conceptual definitions, offence typologies and liability regimes governing economic crime in the commercial law of China and Uzbekistan. Using functionalist comparative law and normative analysis, it shows that the two systems perform equivalent functions but diverge significantly — most notably in corporate criminal liability and in the administrative precondition for criminal prosecution — while converging under shared obligations to the United Nations Convention against Corruption and the FATF standards. It argues that targeted harmonisation — in corporate criminal liability, protection against concurrent proceedings, and financial-crime thresholds — can reduce regulatory friction without sacrificing either state's policy autonomy.
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