Zardari in China

Pakistan's president has promised to work more closely with China in the fight against terrorism. His comments came as he visited the restive province of Xinjiang and met officials ahead of a trade expo in Urumqi, the provincial capital where security was boosted.

It was President Zardari's first visit to China after two deadly attacks in the ancient Silk Road city of Kashgar left 21 people dead and led to some tension between the two countries, as officials blamed members of the "East Turkmenistan Islamic Movement" for the violence and said they had been trained in Pakistani camps before being sent to China.

Some experts maintained that the Chinese government had not produced enough evidence to establish an organized terrorist threat, saying that the violence stemmed from a long-standing ethnic enmity in the area.

On Wednesday, China's official Xinhua news agency reported that President Asif Ali Zardari had met the head of the Xinjiang Communist Party Zhang Chunxian the day before. "Zardari stated that Pakistan opposes any terrorist activities and will work more closely with China in combating terrorism," the agency said in a statement.

Restive province

Xinjiang, which borders Pakistan, has seen many violent outbreaks in the past. Some members of the ethnic Uighur community have even sought refuge in Pakistan. The mainly Muslim Uighur community resents the immigration of Han Chinese into the area and accuses Beijing of oppression.

In 2009, riots between ethnic Uighurs and Han Chinese killed almost 200 people. Zardari endorsed Beijing's policies in the restive region at the time.

Pakistan and China have always enjoyed smooth ties in the past and these have become more intense in recent months as Islamabad's relationship with Washington has deteriorated. However, China has also expressed its concerns about Pakistan's security situation and its vulnerability to terrorists.

Author: Manasi Gopalakrishnan (AFP, Reuters)
Editor: Anne Thomas