Preventive measures in Xinjiang contributing to int'l counterterrorism: Chinese FM

The preventive counterterrorism and deradicalization measures taken in China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region have significantly contributed to the international counterterrorism cause, Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi said Wednesday.

With these measures, China has also been putting into practice the UN Plan of Action to Prevent Violent Extremism, Wang added.

"A few Western countries, including the United States, 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 while addressing a Security Council ministerial debate on the cooperation between the United Nations and regional and subregional organizations in maintaining international peace and security.

The government of Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region has worked actively and learned from other countries' practices to advance preventive counterterrorism and deradicalization work in accordance with law. It has curbed the rampant and frequent terrorist activities in the region and safeguarded the rights to subsistence and development, among other basic rights, of the 25 million residents in Xinjiang, Wang said.

These effective measures have gained support and endorsement from the Chinese people, including all ethnic groups in Xinjiang. Foreigners who have visited the region would acknowledge this basic fact, noted the top diplomat.