The Chinese Ministry of Public Security is making efforts to beef up international cooperation to combat global crimes, cross-border crimes and terrorist activities.

"Criminal laws have already been drafted in strict accordance to the international conventions signed to crackdown on crimes endangering the aviation industry, the organizing and masterminding of terrorist activities, the illegal transaction and trafficking in nuclear materials," said Zhang Xinfeng, Director of the Criminal Investigation Department of the Ministry of Public Security.

Zhang was speaking at the four-day ,Transnational Organized Crime Conference titled "Bridging the GAP- a Global Alliance Perspective on Transnational Organized Crime," which opened at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Center Monday.

The ministry has also embarked on new Mutual Legal Assistance Agreement initiatives by entering into international conventions to fight terrorist activities, particularly those threatening the aviation industry.

"China has signed international mutual legal assistance protocols and indictment treaties in an effort to implement crime-fighting initiatives in wide-ranging areas," he said.

As the Chinese mainland is developing market economy and undergoing economic structural changes, there is a need to improve the policing and crime prevention mechanism to guard against a possibility of criminals cooperating with overseas criminals, he remarked.

Zhang stressed that China is also set to strengthen the exchange of police intelligence with other countries.

Special departments within the police have already been set up to combat crimes, and the government has also been enlisting the support from the citizens and encourage the active reporting crimes, he added.

(Xinhua News Agency March 19, 2002)