A senior Chinese official said Thursday in Beijing that joint efforts should be made by China and ASEAN countries to give a heavy blow to drug-related crimes.

Luo Gan, secretary of the Committee of Political Science and Law under the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, said that China attaches great importance to cooperating with the international community including the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) countries to combat drugs.

"The Chinese government will always strengthen cooperation and exchanges with ASEAN countries to advance regional cooperation in the fight against drugs in a more practical orientation," he said.

Speaking to the heads of delegations attending the Second Ministerial Conference of ASEAN and China Cooperative Operations in Response to Dangerous Drugs convened here Thursday, Luo said that drugs are an international plague that mankind has to confront with. And it is an extremely urgent task for the entire international community to eliminate drugs.

He noted that it is the responsibility of the Chinese government and the fundamental interests of the Chinese people to totally prohibit drugs.

Source: Xinhua