China attaches importance to the prevention of and crackdown on crimes of human trafficking, the Chinese top envoy in Vienna said on Thursday.

Addressing a three-day UN conference on human trafficking, Tang Guoqiang, China's permanent representative to the United Nations and other international organizations in Vienna, said the cause resulting in international human trafficking involves such complex factors as politics, economy and society.

The crime has run rampant since the beginning of the 21st Century, he added.

Tang said the Chinese government, which is firmly against human trafficking, has taken measures to fight the crime and protect the legitimate rights and interests of victims, especially women and children.

China also actively participates in international cooperation in combating the crime within the framework of the United Nations, said the Chinese envoy.

He expressed the hope that the Vienna Forum to Fight Human Trafficking, a cooperation mechanism established by the world body to target the increasingly rampant crime, could make significant contributions to the final elimination of the wicked act.

Some 1,500 government officials, representatives of non-governmental organizations, academics and business leaders from nearly 100 countries attended the forum, which warps up Friday.

(Xinhua News Agency February 15, 2008)