China defends fight against ivory smugglers

China defended its stance on ivory protection, asking for a fair view of the fight against the illegal ivory trade on Thursday.

Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying was responding at a daily press briefing to a media suggestion that African countries should cancel commercial deals with China to get better handling of ivory smuggling and poaching.

"There have always been people wearing colored glassed to see China in an unfair way," Hua said, calling for an impartial view on the progress China has made against the illegal ivory trade.

Punishment for smuggling of ivory is among the strongest in the world, Hua said.

In January, China destroyed 6.1 tonnes of confiscated ivory, a move which demonstrated a consistent stance against wildlife trafficking.

China has a series of laws and regulations, joint law enforcement mechanisms of public security, customs, industry and commerce, and has actively participated in international law enforcement operations, against smugglers, effectively curbing the illegal ivory trade, she said.