China has witnessed a decline in the number of drug-related cases, with harsher punishments to the ringleaders, repeat offenders and financial backers of drug groups, China's top court said on Monday.

Data released by the Supreme People's Court showed that Chinese courts concluded 35,859 first-instance drug-related criminal cases last year. From January to May this year, the number was 9,343, down nearly 30 percent year-on-year.

Li Ruiyi, chief judge of the top court's Fifth Criminal Division, revealed that the number of drug-related crimes over the past decade has had a general downward trend, "which indicates our country maintains a high-pressure stance against drug-related offenses".

He noted that Chinese courts have always focused on cracking down on crimes such as smuggling, manufacturing and large-scale drug trafficking, adding that harsher punishments are imposed to those who use weapons to cover up drug crimes, violently resist investigation, as well as to the ringleaders, repeat offenders and financial backers of drug groups.

While strongly combating the crimes, he said that courts nationwide have also enhanced legal awareness of young people to prevent them from committing relevant offenses. For example, courts in Jiangsu province have invited psychologists to help intervene in the rehabilitation of minors' drug addiction, he added.