BEIJING, Dec. 25  -- China's top prosecutor on Thursday urged the country's prosecutors to treat defense lawyers on an equal footing and respect them.

Prosecutors should establish relations featuring positive exchanges with lawyers and they should listen to the defense opinion during the criminal process, Procurator-General Cao Jianming said at a seminar held by the Supreme People's Procuratorate.

Cao also called on the prosecutors to play a greater role in evidence collection and adhere to due standards when lodging a prosecution.

Also on Thursday, the Supreme People's Court announced that it has given the green light to a draft interpretation on the application of the amended Civil Procedure Law and will issue the interpretation very soon.