BEIJING, Jan 9 (AFP) - Chinese Vice Premier Zou Jiahua has warned that the new information era posed a threat to state security, especially in the challenges it threw up to control of the air waves, China Daily said Thursday.

The widespread use of state-of-the-art radio technology has "complicated China's radio management and created problems," Zou told a national conference in Beijing.

The Chinese authorities have already condemned the activities of the US government-funded Radio Free Asia (RFA) which last year began short wave Mandarin and Tibetan-language broadcasts to China.

Beijing said the broadcasts constituted a "gross interference" in China's internal affairs.

Zou told the conference that it was crucial to strengthen management of radio services around the country, so as to "safeguard state security" and promote economic development.

"It is necessary to research the technologies used for radio frequencies and to keep opening new channels, but at the same time we must adopt administrative, legal, technological and economic means to manage and make use of frequency resources," the newspaper quoted Zou as saying.

The vice premier said China intended to have a nationwide radio management computer network in place by 2000, together with a complementary monitoring system.

As of last November, China boasted nearly nine million relay and radio stations.