Willy, I seem to remember that every year, North Korea is named the safest country in the world. With less than a .001% crime rate. Never mind, that if you don't do what they say, when they say, you and your whole family goes to a work camp, never to be seen or heard from again.
As a former cop friend of mine back home says, crime is innevitable. Some people do bad things, because they like to do bad things. Look at the incidents of random stabbings in China. Obviously mental patients, but not diagnosed, because they are "functional" therefore, not mental. Until they run around stabbing people. No matter how you regulate the people, eventually, someone is gonna start shooting/stabbing people. Be it for legitimate or perverse reasons. The two strongest forces in human nature are greed (personal self interest) and laziness. So if it's easier to steal Bob's car, than to get a decent job and a person's morals are in favor of the lazy option. They will choose the lazy option, unless they see that it's not wise to steal the car.
Oh, and there are plenty of con-artists in China to go around. As in any country, just look at the people running the country. Then look to the streets of that same city and you will usually find a high crime rate.
Lloyd