Wang Yi: China terrorism fight in Xinjiang working

China's de-radicalization measures in Xinjiang have proven highly effective and are a crucial contribution to the international counterterrorism cause, Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi said Wednesday at the United Nations.

Wang spoke about preventive counterterrorism and de-radicalization measures that China has been taking in the western region of the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region, during a ministerial-level debate in the UN Security Council on cooperation between the UN and regional and subregional organizations in maintaining international peace and security.

Those practices are useful explorations in preventive counterterrorism and concrete steps in implementing the UN Plan of Action to Prevent Violent Extremism, he said.

The regional government of Xinjiang has learned from other nations' practices to advance preventive counterterrorism and de-radicalization work in accordance with the law, Wang said.

It has curbed the rampant and frequent terrorist activities in the region and safeguarded the basic rights of more than 25 million Xinjiang residents, including the right to subsistence and development, he said.

For almost two decades, people of different ethnicities in Xinjiang suffered deeply from extremism and terrorism, Wang said on Tuesday while delivering a keynote speech during a dinner event in New York.

Several thousand cases of violent terrorism took place in the region since the 1990s, resulting in thousands of casualties, he said, while the past three years saw no such cases thanks to the measures taken in Xinjiang.

Significant economic growth was achieved in the region with people's religious freedom respected, according to Wang. The local economy has grown by 80 times since the establishment of the region around six decades ago.

The number of religious sites and clerical personnel also increased greatly during the time, and on average every 530 Muslim people in Xinjiang have a mosque, he said.

"A few Western countries, including the US, have been attacking and discrediting China's just measures out of political motives in disregard of facts. China firmly opposes that, and their slanders will not gain any recognition from the international community," Wang said on Wednesday.

The representative of the US, Jonathan Cohen, voiced concerns over the Xinjiang issues during the UN debate.

The Chinese side soon rejected the claim and urged the US to stand with the Chinese people.

There must be no double standard or selectiveness in the fight against terrorism, Wang told the 15-nation Council, and all terrorist activities must be resolutely challenged irrespective of who is behind them, when and where they take place, or why they are initiated.

Counterterrorism measures shouldn't be selective, nor should any party take advantage of terrorist forces to pursue geopolitical gains, he said, and terrorism shouldn't be linked to any specific country, ethnicity or religion.

Minister for Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation Sergey Lavrov echoed the point by stressing that using terrorist entities for political purposes was particularly unacceptable.

While the need is urgent to strengthen international efforts in combating terrorism, all cooperative efforts should be enjoined without politicization, he said.

With cross-border cooperation a main theme in the debate, Wang underscored China's pledge to participate further in the international cooperation in the fight against terrorism.

International cooperation is the priority of the United Nations counterterrorism strategy, said Antonio Guterres, secretary-general of the United Nations.

The UN is strengthening its cooperation with regional organizations such as the three presented at Wednesday's debate — the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, the Collective Security Treaty Organization, and the Commonwealth of Independent States, he said.

The UN and the Security Council should take core responsibilities in the fight against terrorism, said Wang. Individual efforts of member states should be promoted, and collaborations strengthened on national, regional and global levels.

Wang also alerted global leaders of the role the internet has played in the spread of extremist ideas and suggested major actions against terrorists' use of it.

He also rebuked the "clash of civilizations" rhetoric and advocated dialogue between civilizations.