The Chinese government has always attached importance to work safety and occupational health as part of its overall plan on economic and social development, State Councilor Hua Jianmin said Thursday.

Hua made the remark at the opening ceremony of the Second China International Forum on Work safety, which was co-sponsored by China's State Administration of Work Safety (SAWS) and International Labor Organization.

The Chinese government will improve legal system in the field, adopt advanced technology and equipment to upgrade its ability to ensure workers' safety and strengthen the building of an emergency rescue system, the senior official said.

China also paid attention to international cooperation and exchanges related to work safety and the hosting of the forum will push forward such communication, he said.

More than 450 people from governmental institutions, organizations and companies in 20 countries and regions participated in the forum.

A total of 195 overseas and domestic companies put on show their state-of-the-art technologies in the field of work safety and occupational health.

The three-day event includes a number of seminars with the theme "Safety, Health and Development", as well as an exhibition to show latest technology, products and equipment pertaining to improve work safety and occupational health.

The first such forum, sponsored by the SAWS with 400 participants from more than 20 countries, was held in Beijing in Oct. of 2002.

Source: Xinhua