"We have had constructive dialogue with the anti-torture committee and have had candid exchanges and answered their questions," foreign ministry spokesman Qin Gang told reporters.

"It is China's consistent stance that we oppose torture."

Qin had been asked about comments by Felice Gaer, the UN Committee Against Torture's rapporteur on China, who said Monday she was frustrated by the lack of information provided by Chinese authorities on individual rights abuse cases.

She noted China's "unwillingness to make these statistics public" by invoking its State Secrets Act to withhold information.

At a hearing last week, Gaer quizzed China on the number of people sentenced to death, the fate of North Korean emigrants and the harassment of pregnant women to "persuade" them to have an abortion.

Gaer said she was "perplexed" by China's response, which consisted of highlighting the relevant laws in place to combat abuses.

"The lack of information makes it difficult to do a serious and independent assessment of the allegations by rights groups about torture and ill treatment," she said.

The UN's Committee Against Torture will make its final recommendations known in a report on November 21.

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