Ma and Zhou agreed that in light of those developments, any infringements of the legitimate rights of private businesses and entrepreneurs should be punished, while their legitimate operations should be protected in accordance with the law.

Chen, the law professor, said: "We must clearly define the difference between financial crimes and financial disputes. We should not impose criminal penalties on entrepreneurs involved in disputes."

Growing protection

Protection of property and assets has been strengthened regularly since the 18th CPC National Congress. In 2016, the CPC Central Committee and the State Council, China's Cabinet, issued a guideline on improved protection of property and asset rights in an effort to bolster public confidence and promote social justice.

The guideline ordered governments at all levels to provide equal, comprehensive and legal protection of property rights, and stipulated that businesses in the private sector must be treated fairly. For example, the regulation said no assets or property can be confiscated without solid evidence to prove they were obtained illegally.

In 2016, the Supreme People's Court, the nation's highest judicial body, established a special team to urgently review all suspected flawed property and asset-related cases since 1978, and to scrutinize court rulings related to entrepreneurs and private businesses punished for alleged misconduct.

As a result, the court announced retrials in three major cases linked to property rights.

In May, a significant step toward better protection of rights was taken when the conviction of Zhang Wenzhong, former chairman of retail company Wumei Holdings, on charges of fraud, bribery and embezzlement was quashed.

Two other cases - one involving Gu Chujun, former chairman of refrigerator maker Guangdong Kelon Electrical Holdings, the other relating to agricultural machinery maker Jiangsu Muyang Co - were retried last year. The results are yet to be released.

More support

The moves to overturn wrongful convictions and protect the legitimate rights of entrepreneurs have accelerated in recent months.

In November, President Xi Jinping said the country will unswervingly encourage, support and guide the development of the nonpublic sector and support private enterprises.

He demanded the implementation of policies and measures to improve the environment for the development of private businesses, including better ensuring the safety of entrepreneurs' rights, assets and property.

The safety requirement has been highlighted as a major economic task this year.

Last month, the top court reviewed the verdicts in six cases related to protection of property, and five of the rulings were overturned after inconsistencies were discovered.

Although protection is being improved, Xiong Qiuhong, a legal researcher with the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, said there are still some challenges in handling cases related to assets and property.

"For example, judges have been ordered to prevent financial disputes from being treated as criminal cases, but there is no rule about dealing with cases that involve both criminal and civil aspects. It is not clear which should be tackled first," she said.

The top court said it recognizes the problem, and a new judicial interpretation is being drafted. Meanwhile, several examples of typical cases will be released soon to provide specific guidance for grassroots courts.