On September 25, 2019 local time, State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi attended the Ministerial Debate on the United Nations (UN) Cooperation with Regional and Subregional Organizations in Maintaining Peace and Security at the UN headquarters in New York.
Wang Yi noted, terrorism is an enemy of mankind. Counter-terrorism should be a shared responsibility of all nations. The situation in combating terrorism worldwide still remains severe and complex. The close connection between extremist thoughts and terrorism becomes even more prominent. Therefore, international cooperation in counter-terrorism must be strengthened rather than weakened. All countries should keep the concept of a community with a shared future for mankind in mind, address both symptoms and root causes with holistic measures, jointly fight against terrorism, push for political solutions to hotspot issues, and advocate mutual respect and harmonious coexistence among different civilizations and religions.
Wang Yi stressed, in the face of a new round of resurgence of terrorism, the Chinese side maintains: first, a resolute crackdown must be carried out on terrorist activities, with consistent standards regardless of their perpetrators, time and location, or pretexts. There should not be any double standard or selective fight against terrorism. And there should be zero geopolitical interest involved as well as no linkage between terrorism and a specific nation, ethnic group or religion.
Second, combating cyber terrorism must be prioritized. The Internet should by no means become a "safe heaven" for terrorists. The spread of extreme thoughts online by terrorist groups to incite terrorist activities must be severely cracked down.
Third, prevention should be the key, and the root causes of terrorism must be eliminated. Deradicalization measures must be actively adopted to deter the spread of extreme thoughts and leave terrorism no breeding ground. The rhetoric of "clash of civilizations" must be discarded and not exploited to terrorists' advantage; and the fundamental solution to terrorism lies in development, sustainable development in particular.
Fourth, the UN should play a central role. The UN member states must make their own efforts while the UN and its Security Council should play a core role, and strengthen coordination at national, regional and global levels to actively implement the United Nations Global Counter-Terrorism Strategy and related resolutions of the Security Council. China will continue to be deeply involved in international counter-terrorism cooperation.
Wang Yi talked about the preventive counterterrorism and deradicalization measures taken in Xinjiang. He emphasized that the government of the Xinjiang Autonomous Region worked actively while borrowing from other countries' experience to advance preventive counterterrorism and deradicalization work in accordance with law. It has effectively curbed the rampant frequent terrorist activities in the region and safeguarded the basic rights, including the right to subsistence and development, of the 25 million residents in Xinjiang, gaining support and endorsement from the Chinese people, including all ethnic groups in Xinjiang. People who have visited the region all acknowledge this basic fact. As has been proven, the deradicalization measures in Xinjiang have been highly effective. They are useful explorations in preventive counterterrorism, concrete steps in implementing the UN Plan of Action to Prevent Violent Extremism, and China's important contribution to the international counterterrorism cause. Wang Yi underlined the fact that a few western countries, including the US, have been attacking China's just measures out of political motives in disregard of facts. China firmly opposes that. Their slanders will not gain any recognition from the international community.
