China called on the international community on Wednesday to strengthen cooperation and make concerted efforts to fight transnational organized crime.

Ambassador Tang Guoqiang, China's Permanent Representative to the United Nations Office in Vienna, made the call at the fourth session of the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime and its Protocols (CTOC/COP IV), which opened in Vienna on Wednesday.

Transnational organized crime, which is now spreading around the world at an alarming rate, has posed a grave threat to the international community, Tang said.

The spread of transnational crime could only be effectively curbed through a strengthened global cooperation based on such principles as mutual respect for sovereignty, equality and mutual benefit, he said.

International cooperation has always been the priority of the Convention against Transnational Organized Crime (CTOC), and it should also become the focus of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention (COP), Tang said.

He also urged the COP to give high priority and full support to international cooperation in extradition and confiscation of proceeds of crime as well as offer technical assistance.

To effectively combat transnational crime, emphasis should also be placed on meeting the needs of the developing countries and assisting them with capacity-building with no strings attached, added Tang.

The conference, held on Oct. 8-17 in Vienna, also focuses on criminal conviction, anti-trafficking and anti-money laundering.

The CTOC, which entered into force in 2003, is the main international instrument in the fight against transnational organized crime.

(Xinhua News Agency October 9, 2008)