China attaches importance to security cooperation in the non-traditional security fields with other countries, says a white paper issued by the Information Office of the State Council Monday.

It is imperative "to address both the symptoms and root causes and to adopt comprehensive measures," the white paper says.

In recent years, cooperation in non-traditional security fields within the frameworks of ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) and China, ASEAN and China, Japan and the Republic of Korea (ROK) has developed gradually, says the white paper titled China's National Defense in 2004.

Leaders of China and ASEAN signed a joint declaration on cooperation in non-traditional security fields in November 2002. They also held a special meeting in Bangkok on SARS and issued a joint declaration in April 2003.

China initiated the first ministerial meeting between ASEAN, China, Japan and ROK on combating transnational crimes, which agreed to set up a cooperation mechanism between the three countries for campaigns in this field.

In international counter-terrorism cooperation, China supported the United Nations (UN) in playing a leading role in this regard, and seriously implemented Security Council resolutions on counter-terrorism issues, says the white paper.

China put forward four proposals on deepening international counter-terrorism cooperation at a UN foreign ministers' meeting in January 2003, and conducted exchanges and cooperation with Russia, the United States, Pakistan, India, the United Kingdom, France and Germany in this regard.

The Chinese army has taken an active part in cooperation in non-traditional security fields such as joint counter-terrorism, maritime search and rescue, combating piracy, and cracking down on drug production and trafficking, says the white paper.

The armed forces of China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia and Tajikistan successfully conducted the first multilateral counter-terrorism exercise in the vicinities of Ucharal in Kazakhstan and Yining in China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region within the framework of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization August 2003.

The Chinese navy held joint maritime search-and-rescue exercises with French navy in March, British navy in June, and Australian navy in October in 2004 in the Yellow Sea area.