BEIJING - China, as a major victim of computer hacking, urgently needs to collaborate with the United States to combat cyber crime, an official of the Ministry of Public Security said on Tuesday.

Speaking at the Fourth US-China Internet Industry Forum, Gu Jian, vice-director of the ministry's network security protection bureau, said that since computer crimes were included in China's Criminal Law in 2009, the country's police have destroyed more than 80 criminal gangs involved in computer hacking, the online theft of data and running botnets to spread malicious software.

Gu said more than 200 government websites have been attacked or otherwise infiltrated on a daily basis, largely from abroad.