SHENYANG - China's vice public security minister on Thursday called on the nation's police to go all out in a campaign to crack down on economic crimes.

Liu Jinguo, vice minister of public security, said at the ministry's meeting in Shenyang, capital city of Northeast China's?Liaoning province, that police across the country should continue the heavy-handed approach against economic crimes and improve the investigation and handling of relevant cases.

The number of economic crimes being investigated increased by 10 percent year-on-year in 2011, and economic-crime cases closed in 2011 rose by a record-breaking 13 percent year-on-year, Liu said.

Liu urged police across the nation to make sure all cases of economic crimes be investigated and to attach equal importance to recovering losses and apprehending suspects.

The ministry will set up a leading committee to coordinate and supervise the campaign, according to decisions made at the meeting.

Economic crimes include fraud, bribery, and embezzlement, and severe economic crimes carry the death penalty in China.