As its Foreign Minister Wang Yi held rare talks with Pakistan's foreign policy chief Sartaj Aziz on Indian soil, China today said it backed Pakistan in framing an anti-terrorism strategy in line with local conditions.
Wang arrived in New Delhi yesterday on a two-day visit to attend the Russia, India, China (RIC) Foreign Ministers' meet. He met the Pakistani Prime Minister's Adviser on Foreign Affairs, Sartaj Aziz, on the sidelines of the Asia-Europe (ASEM) meeting today and held talks on bilateral ties.
"We should address the symptoms and root causes of terrorism. On the anti-terrorism issue we support Pakistani side to formulate anti-terrorism strategy in accordance with it national conditions," Foreign Ministry spokesman Qing Gang told a media briefing here.
He was responding to a question on whether Wang called for joint efforts to fight terror at the RIC meeting.
"As for Afghanistan and anti-terrorism issues, China maintains that the international community should jointly crack down on terrorism. At the same time, terrorism should not be linked with specific ethnic groups, countries or nations," Qing said.
China has stepped up its campaign against terror at international fora after the October 28 suicide attack at Tiananmen Square in which Beijing alleged that militants from the Muslim-majority Xinjiang province tried to crash a SUV at the historic Forbidden City.
Five persons, including three alleged attackers from the same family, were killed and 40 others injured in the incident.
Referring to Afghanistan, which borders Xinjiang and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK), Qing said it has drawn the attention of its neighbours and the world community to the issue.
