Over the past year, the 17 "Blue Whale" enterprise protection workstations across Shanghai have solved more than 2,400 economic crime cases, including embezzlement, misappropriation of funds, and bribery. These efforts have helped over 100 companies recover losses totaling more than 690 million yuan (US$96 million), according to Xu Tianci, an officer with the economic crime investigation department of Shanghai police.
These workstations were jointly established in April 2024 by Shanghai police and the Shanghai Federation of Industry and Commerce. They aim to provide enterprises with full-process judicial protection and strengthen the city's business environment.
Each workstation is staffed with police officers experienced in handling economic crimes. They follow a model of two days of on-site duty per week, along with 24/7 phone support. Some stations also include personnel from the procuratorate, courts, and market regulation authorities to provide comprehensive judicial assistance.
Enterprises can access services through phone or online booking, and visit the workstations on designated reception days.
Beyond responding to companies' requests, the workstations also actively reach out to businesses to conduct risk assessments and provide legal training. They have developed over 30 business-focused legal courses based on recent cases and delivered more than 130 lectures on-site at these firms. They help companies build internal controls to identify and respond to risks early effectively.
Tech company Quectel Wireless Solutions has benefited from the Blue Whale system. Located in Songjiang District in Shanghai's southern suburbs, the firm is a major producer of cellular modules.
According to the company's general legal counsel, Hu Ting, an internal assessment revealed potential risks of collusion and contract fraud in one of its projects. In September 2024, the company reported this to the Songjiang Blue Whale workstation.
The workstation quickly launched an investigation, using a combination of expert knowledge and Big Data analysis. It identified and arrested three suspects from neighboring Anhui and Zhejiang provinces with help from local police, recovering 11.7 million yuan in losses for the company.
Hu said the police's expertise in economic crime analysis, such as data and financial tracing, helped the company handle areas it couldn't manage on its own.
Beyond economic crime support, Blue Whale workstations are expanding into multi-agency collaboration. They are piloting a dispute resolution mechanism involving business associations, as well as judicial and administrative bodies.
For foreign enterprises in Shanghai, the workstations began collaborating with the city's immigration authority this year to help with services such as visa processing.
Before the Blue Whale system, city police tackled economic crimes through regular visits and proactive outreach, exemplified by the Bosch China case.
In late 2021, during a Changning District police visit, Bosch reported that a newly launched car component was immediately copied by competitors. Investigators quickly traced the infringement to two former Bosch subsidiary employees (later rival executives) who'd breached confidentiality agreements, using stolen trade secrets to replicate the product, with the competitor's founder also involved.
In April 2024, the Changning court convicted the company and three individuals of trade secret infringement.
"Changning police timely recovered our losses and protected our reputation," said Bosch China president Xu Daquan. He noted the force also provides legal training to boost risk prevention.
"This mix of professional enforcement and proactive support gives real security," Xu said. "It's why we keep expanding and investing long-term in Shanghai's strong business environment."