China launched Saturday morning the country's third ever state-level anti-terrorist exercise, involving both military and civil departments.

The exercise, dubbed Great Wall No. 3, began at 10 a.m. in Qingdao city in east China's Shandong Province but was coordinated from Beijing.

The exercise, based on terrorist attack scenarios, focused on the city's emergency response and its capacity to mobilize anti-terrorism forces.

Zhou Yongkang, State Councilor and Minister of Public Security, who commanded the drill, said that the exercise was a means of testing emergency security systems in advance of the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games.

China held a state-level anti-terror drill dubbed "Great Wall 2003" in Sep. 2003 and "Great Wall No. 2" in Jan. 2006.

Source: Xinhua