PHNOM PENH, April 28 -- China is committed to deepening its cooperation with international agencies and countries in the region in the fight against human trafficking, a Chinese senior official at the Ministry of Public Security (MPS) said here on Tuesday.

Speaking at the 10th COMMIT (Coordinated Mekong Ministerial Initiative against Trafficking) Senior Officials' meeting in the Cambodian capital, Chen Shiqu, deputy director general of the MPS' s Criminal Investigation Bureau, said the Chinese government will fully participate in and support the COMMIT process, working towards establishing the cooperation mechanism for the six Greater Mekong Sub-region (GMS) countries to combat transnational human trafficking crimes.

"We will actively carry on practical law enforcement collaboration such as joint-action, case investigation, arrest and repatriation of criminal suspects, and rescue and relief for victims," he said. "We will share our experiences in fighting against human trafficking to help the region improve its law enforcement capacity."

He added that China will build on the Memorandum of Understanding on Cooperation against Trafficking in Persons in the GMS, the Beijing Declaration, the Hanoi Declaration, and the soon- to-be-signed Phnom Penh Declaration to deepen comprehensively its cooperation with the United Nations, international organizations and members of the COMMIT process.

"China will work towards improving the anti-human trafficking operations in the GMS and towards the early achievement of a world without human trafficking," Chen said.

The GMS countries include Cambodia, China, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand and Vietnam.

Speaking at the opening ceremony of the two-day meeting on Tuesday, Ing Kantha Phavi, Cambodian minister of Women's Affairs, said the COMMIT has served as a unique sub-regional mechanism for cooperation in counter-human trafficking among the GMS countries.

"Our six countries have definitely intensified and improved efforts against human trafficking after the groundbreaking Memorandum of Understanding signed in 2004 to foster regional cooperation against this crime," she said. "The meeting today is very important to continue promoting peace, stability and human security in the GMS countries."

The 10th COMMIT Senior Officials' meeting was convened prior to the 4th COMMIT Inter-Ministerial Meeting, which will be held on April 30.