BEIJING, June 16 (Xinhua) -- A senior counterterrorism official said Thursday China will draft a counterterrorism law to strengthen its fight against terrorist activities.

    "The law will define what kind of activities are terrorist activities and measures to be taken in fighting terrorist activities," said Zhao Yongchen, deputy director of the counterterrorism bureau of the Ministry of Public Security. "Preparations for formulation of the law are underway."

    Zhao said at the China-ASEAN workshop for senior police officers, hosted by the ministry, that although China is a stable country, it still faces threats from terrorism.

    He called the "East Turkistan" terrorist forces the number one terrorist threat to China, saying they have carried out more than 200 terrorist activities in China's Xinjiang in the 1990s.

    He said China also faces a threat from international terrorist forces, mainly to China's interests abroad. Last year projects undertaken by Chinese technicians were sabotaged by terrorists in Pakistan and Afghanistan.

    To crack down on terrorism, he said, it is important to cut the financial links that fund them, a tactic that requires close international cooperation.

    China has actively participated in international counterterrorism activities and has so far joined 11 of the 13 existing international counterterrorism treaties.

    As China has beefed up counterterrorism measures, there was no terrorist attack in China last year, he said.

    More than 30 senior officers from 10 members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) are attending the week-long workshop, which opened Monday. Enditem