A Chinese diplomat to the United Nations Conference on Disarmament stressed the urgency of strengthening an international convention on controlling biological weapons Monday in Geneva.

"The Biological Weapons Convention (BWC) plays a key role in eliminating the threat of and preventing proliferation of biological weapons," said Hu Xiaodi, the Chinese Ambassador on disarmament affairs to the United Nations office here.

The increasing threat of bio-terrorism and transboundary prevalence of infectious diseases is a reminder to the world of the necessity and urgency of strengthening the effectiveness of the BWC, he said.

Hu made the remarks at the annual meeting of signatories to the convention which began Monday and will run through Friday.

He pointed out that a sound and effective system of disease surveillance and response is conducive to minimizing the impact of infectious diseases on people's work and living and contributes to the early detection, active prevention and effective response to bio-terrorism.

"China upholds that States Parties (signatories) should establish and improve related laws and institutions, pool more resources to enhance the surveillance and response capabilities, taking into account of national situation and international standards and guidelines," said Hu.

He called on all signatories to actively participate in and promote cooperation at international, regional and bilateral levels to enhance the international capability to combat infectious diseases.

Hu told the meeting that the Chinese government was making efforts on this issue and that it is willing to make further contributions towards effectively containing infectious diseases.

The BWC, which took effect in 1975, has more than 140 signatories. China joined the convention in 1984.