China values the exchanges and cooperation with the relevant UN human rights mechanism, Foreign Ministry spokesman Qin Gang told a press conference in Beijing Thursday.

Special rapporteur on torture of the UN Human Rights Commission Manfred Novak's current China visit indicates China's sincerity to make exchanges and cooperation with the relevant UN human rights mechanism in a spirit of mutual respect and equality, said Qin.

At the invitation of the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Novak paid the visit to China from Nov. 21 to Dec. 2. Besides Beijing, he has visited Lhasa, capital city of Tibet Autonomous Region and Urumqi, capital city of Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region.

During his stay in China, Novak has met and held talks with officials of China's ministries of Foreign Affairs, Justice and Public Security, the Supreme People's Procuratorate, and local officials of Lhasa and Urumqi, acquainting himself with China's practice to reduce and eliminate torture.

Novak also visited some houses of detention in the three cities and talked with some personnel, lawyers and scholars from universities, academic institutions and other non-governmental organizations, Qin said.

The rapporteur on torture is a special procedure under the UN Commission on Human Rights, and China believes that Novak's visit to China will be conducive to further increasing mutual understanding, Qin noted.

Source: Xinhua