The Chinese government has always been firm in opposing torture and it has made constant efforts in recent years to prevent and punish torture, a senior Chinese diplomat said on Friday.

"China has all along stood firm to oppose torture," said Li Baodong, Chinese ambassador to the Unite Nations Office in Geneva.

"Since China ratified the Convention Against Torture in 1988, we have made unswerving efforts to improve our work in legislative, law enforcement and judicial areas, so as to ban, prevent and punish torture of all forms more effectively," Li said.

Li was addressing a session of the UN Committee Against Torture, which started a two-day public review of China's record in implementing the Convention Against Torture.

According to the ambassador, in recent years, China has pursued the scientific outlook on development with people's interests at its core.

To safeguard and promote human rights has become an important part of the national development strategy and a concept widely accepted in China.

Under such circumstances, legislative, administrative and judicial organs at all levels continue to adopt effective measures to reform and improve relevant mechanisms, regulate law enforcement and judicial behaviors, and reinforce supervision and control to ensure fair law enforcement and judicial acts.

Thanks to those efforts, "new progress has been made in banning and preventing torture," Li said.

He said torture cases had been reduced in China by a big margin in recent years.

For example, in 2006, there were trials of 64 cases involving 119 people of extorting confessions by torture, and in 2007, the number of such cases was reduced to 40 involving 82 people.

Previously in 2003, there were 75 such cases involving 141 people; in 2004, there were 79 cases with 135 people; and in 2005, there were 70 cases with 132 people.

Li said a fairly complete law enforcement supervision system has been established among China's public security organs.

From 2005 to 2007, 137 public security policemen received administrative and disciplinary punishment because of extorting confessions by torture and 48 because of mistreatment of detainees.

"Complete elimination of torture requires sustained unswerving efforts," Li stressed.

"To achieve this final goal, the Chinese government will continue to improve its legal system, reinforce its endeavor in education, prevention and punishment, and earnestly implement all provisions of the Convention, so as to make new progress in its efforts against torture," he said.

He added that the Chinese government is ready to conduct close cooperation and exchanges with the UN Committee Against Torture, the international organizations and other countries, and work jointly for the realization of the purposes and objectives of the Convention.