Some economy-related, non-violent crimes may no longer be punishable by death in China, according to state-run Xinhua News Agency.

On Monday, the draft amendment to the country’s criminal code was submitted to the Chinese regime’s legislature—the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress. It proposes dropping 13 "non-violent offenses" that are punishable by death. Currently, the death penalty applies to 68 specific crimes.

While the proposed reduction is seen as a small step forward, many observers don’t think it will have a significant impact on the actual number of executions carried out.

That’s because most of the crimes that the proposal relates to are infrequent. These include smuggling rare animals, fraudulent use of financial bills or teaching people how to rob ancient ruins.

The changes would also exclude people who are 75 or older from being sentenced to death. But Joshua Rosenzweig from the U.S.-based rights group Dui Hua Foundation told the Associated Press that few criminals sentenced to death belong to this age group.

The Chinese regime has long been criticized for its capital punishment. The number of executions is estimated to be in the thousands each year, exceeding the total number in all other countries combined. The regime does not release any numbers, and regards such information as a matter of national security.

Rights group Amnesty International said in a statement online that any impact of the proposed law change cannot be evaluated until the Chinese regime makes its execution figures public.