File photo of Xinhua

The Chinese embassy in Pakistan on Saturday has slammed reports accusing matchmaking centers linking China and Pakistan of human trafficking and organ sales, reiterating that China bans human organ sales and prohibits cross-national matchmaking centers.

“Both China and Pakistan adopt rule of law and firmly oppose human trafficking and sales of human organs. The reports about sales of organs are misleading and groundless,” the embassy spokesperson said in a statement on Saturday.

The statement came after Pakistani ARY News broadcast a report about an illegal matchmaking center in Lahore, with alleged images of several Chinese men with six local women, including two teenage girls.

In response to reports which alleged that women could even be forced into prostitution or human organ sales later, the embassy spokesperson stressed that the Chinese government strictly prohibits any organization or individual from buying or selling human organs in any form, or engaging in such activities.

The spokesperson, however, admitted that recently some unlawful matchmaking centers have made illegal profits from brokering cross-national marriages, which made youths from both countries victims.

China is cooperating with Pakistani law enforcement agencies to crack down on illegal matchmaking centers, as Chinese laws and regulations strictly prohibit cross-national matchmaking centers. No individual is allowed to engage in such activities by deception or for profit, the spokesperson noted, adding that clues to combat such offenses are welcomed.

Zhao Lijian, deputy chief of mission at the embassy, also responded on his Twitter account on Saturday, reiterating the nation’s staunch opposition to illegal matchmaking centers by citing a crackdown on two illegal centers involving Pakistanis in eastern China’s Shandong province in February.