A Chinese national surnamed Shen was recently handed over from Russia to China under the treaty between the two countries on the transfer of sentenced persons, the Ministry of Justice said in a statement on Monday.

The handover was carried out at the Manzhouli port in Inner Mongolia autonomous region with the assistance of relevant authorities.

The case marked China's first successful inbound transfer of a sentenced person since the International Criminal Judicial Assistance Law of the People's Republic of China took effect in 2018.

The transfer of convicts is a form of international criminal judicial assistance. As the competent authority, the Ministry of Justice leads China's efforts to conclude bilateral transfer treaties and to handle case-specific cooperation with foreign counterparts.

To date, China has signed treaties on the transfer of sentenced persons with 19 countries, including Ukraine, Spain, Portugal, South Korea, Australia, Russia, Belgium, Pakistan, Vietnam, and Ethiopia.