China has punished 67,505 government officials for corruption in less than four years since 2003, according to the latest judicial figures released Monday.

"These punishment figures show that the country's prosecutors are determined to root out corruption," said Wang Zhenchuan, deputy procurator-general of the Supreme People's Procuratorate, citing his office's statistics from January 2003 to August 2006.

"With improvements to the graft prevention system, corruption is on the decline in many sectors," said Wang, addressing hundreds of representatives from international anti-corruption bodies at a five-day Beijing conference that will last till Thursday.

"The Supreme Procuratorate is willing to cooperate with other countries in the fight against corruption," China's top prosecutor Jia Chunwang told delegates at The First Annual Conference and General Meeting of the International Association of Anti-Corruption Authorities (IAACA) on Monday.

"All kinds of cooperation are welcome provided they are effective," he said, adding that there is a trend for anti-corruption authorities around the globe to join hands in fighting graft.

The Supreme People's Procuratorate has signed 83 anti-graft memorandums with 75 law enforcement departments in the world.

Jia said corruption, if not controlled, would undermine democracy and the rule of law and engender an increase in organized crime and terrorism.

"A clean government and the rule of law are two goals China has long been pursuing," Jia said.

At the opening ceremony of the conference, Chinese President Hu Jintao also emphasized that the Chinese government is fully committed to fighting corruption. The anti-graft combat is a priority that is having a great influence on the overall development of the country.

According to the procuratorate's statistics, more than 17,505 corrupt officials were prosecuted and punished in the first eight months of 2006.

China has set up anti-graft bureaus in procuratorates at all levels, and employs 36,000 people in its anti-corruption efforts.

China's penal code specifies 55 crimes relating to government positions and Chinese procuratorates each year probe nearly 40,000 alleged corruption cases.

Analysts said international cooperation was crucial for China which is trying to net dozens of crooked officials who fled overseas ahead of or during investigations.

Police records show that 500 people suspected of serious economic crimes, mostly corrupt officials, live at large in foreign countries. The money involved in their cases adds up to a stunning 70 billion yuan (8.75 billion U.S. dollars).

Wang said Chinese law enforcement officials, with the help of foreign anti-corruption officials, had nabbed and brought back 70 corrupt officials from abroad.

Editor: Yan