Patrol boats and cargo ships leave the port at the launching ceremony of the joint patrol of police force from China, Laos, Myanmar and Thailand along the Mekong River in Guanlei Port in Dai Autonomous Prefecture of Xishuangbanna, southwest China's Yunnan Province. The 76th Mekong River joint patrol led by China, Laos, Myanmar, and Thailand started Nov. 20, 2018 from Guanlei Port, Xishuangbanna Dai Autonomous Prefecture in southwest China's Yunnan Province.  Since December 2011, the joint patrols have covered more than 39,500 kilometers, with 122 merchant ships rescued and 582.28 kilograms of drugs seized. The cooperation has expanded to the cracking down on terrorism and human trafficking, as well as joint search and rescue. Photo: Xinhua

Chinese police rescued more than 1,000 abducted foreign women with the help of five Southeast Asian countries. 

China, Myanmar, Cambodia, Laos, Thailand and Vietnam jointly busted 760 human trafficking and false marriage cases from June to December 2018, leading to the arrest of 1,332 suspects, including 262 foreign nationals. In total, 1,130 abducted foreign women and 17 children were rescued, Liu Zhongyi, a senior official with China's Ministry of Public Security (MPS) announced at a press conference on Friday. 

In recent years, domestic and foreign suspects colluded with each other and abducted women from neighboring countries to China and sold them as wives in the name of introducing jobs, tourism and marriage. These actions not only seriously damaged the legitimate rights and interests of the women, but also led to crimes such as human trafficking, illegal marriages, and marriage fraud, MPS said.

The US State Department on Thursday released the 2019 Trafficking in Persons Report, which listed China, along with Russia, Venezuela, Iran and North Korea as the "worst offenders of human trafficking."

Zhang Zhiwei, director of the Center for International Cooperation Against Human Trafficking at China University of Political Science and Law, told the Global Times on Friday that the US, ignoring China's achievements in cracking down on human trafficking, arbitrarily came up with the report.

"China has built a nationwide DNA data base to fight human trafficking, introduced high technology, including artificial intelligence in the field, and cooperated with the private sector in arresting suspects, rescuing victims and helping them return home," Zhang said.  

"What right does the US have to judge other countries? What standards is the report based on, and are those standards suited for different national conditions?" Zhang asked, adding that he questions the fairness and credibility of the report.

Zhang has met with many international experts on human trafficking crackdown at international events in recent years, and said that many foreign experts, including those from the US, recognize China's achievements and efforts in the field.