Beijing, Kunming, Urumqi: between 2013 and 2014, these three cities located in the northeast, south and west of China were the targets of major and extremely violent terrorist attacks. In less than eight months, 72 people died and 356 were injured in separate attacks using suicide car bombs, bladed weapons, and/or explosives (see the interactive map below for more details). While the international media did cover these events, there is still little knowledge in the West about the changing face of terrorism in China. Going beyond widespread preconceptions, it is necessary to identify the facts of the threat, its geographical expansion and transnational linkages, and how this issue shapes Chinese politics.
In recent years, China’s anti-terrorism policy has evolved rapidly from a rather reactive “defense against terror” to a proactive “war on terror,” along with permanent “crisis management.” Today, Beijing’s anti-terrorism efforts are becoming more comprehensive, sophisticated, and high-tech, with an unprecedented reach into affected regions and into society. As a domestic and transnational issue, terrorism is also a major priority for China’s international agenda, particularly its economic development strategy toward the West and its growing interests abroad. Beijing is likely to expand its international anti-terror efforts via bilateral cooperation and multilateral forums. In fact, China could become one of the major stake-holders in international efforts to combat terrorism.
The main terrorism threats in China originate from the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region in the northwest of the country. For roughly three decades, the region has been rocked by social unrest involving the indigenous populations — consisting mainly of Uyghurs and Han Chinese, the ethnic majority of the People’s Republic of China (PRC), but also of Tajiks, Kazakhs, Kyrgyz, Mongols, and Hui. Among the local groups opposing Beijing’s authority some more radical factions have emerged.
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