Wen, Central Asian peers push for co-operation
Premier Wen Jiabao met Russian and Central Asian prime ministers in the Tajik capital Dushanbe yesterday for talks on security and economic co-operation.
The ninth prime ministers' meeting of the Shanghai Co-operation Organisation (SCO) - a security grouping consisting of China, Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan - agreed to press ahead with further regional co-operation, Xinhua reported.
Assistant Foreign Minister Cheng Guoping said terrorism, separatism and extremism, together with drug smuggling and cross- border crime, posed serious threats to the region, China News Service reported.
Tajik President Emomali Rahmon also called for further co-operation to fight terrorism and separatism, and promote regional and global development.
SCO secretary general Muratbek Imanaliev said earlier that SCO military activities were mainly aimed at fighting terrorism and did not target any specific country. He said the SCO was not a military organisation and was focused on maintaining regional and global security and development.
The SCO would continue to combat terrorism, separatism and extremism to maintain regional security in Eurasia, and especially in Central Asia, Imanaliev said.
China blames terrorism, separatism and extremism - the so-called 'three evil forces' - on the East Turkestan Islamic Movement, which seeks independence for Uygur-populated Xinjiang .
In a meeting with Rahmon, Wen said China would expand co-operation with Tajikistan in economic issues and trade, electricity, transportation, minerals and border control. He pushed for the implementation of a co-operation agreement between Tajikistan and Xinjiang.
Wen also met his Kazakh counterpart, Karim Masimov.
