President Xi Jinping condemns jihadist hotel attack in Mali, vows fight against terrorist activities to maintain 'world peace'

President Xi Jinping yesterday "strongly condemned" the attack on a hotel in Mali which left three executives of state-owned railway company among at least 21 killed.

"China will strengthen cooperation with international society to resolutely fight violent terrorist activities that hurt innocent lives, to maintain world peace and tranquility," Xi was quoted as saying in a Foreign Ministry statement.

Gunmen burst in to the lobby of the Radisson Blu hotel in Bamako on Friday morning and sprayed gunfire before troops stormed the building and freed 170 hostages.

The three Chinese victims were identified as Zhou Tianxiang , general manager of the international division of China Railway Construction Corp (CRCC); Wang Xuanshang , deputy general manager of the international division; and Chang Xuehui , general manager of its West Africa division, according to a statement on the official website of CRCC.

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They were in the hotel lobby waiting to meet Malian officials to discuss a potential railway project when the attack began. A translator named Wu Zhiqi was running late and was not in the lobby when the gunman began the assault. He was the only survivor of the CRCC's team of four in the hotel, said Liu Shushan, director of the CRCC culture department.

As Beijing reaches out to Africa by helping build infrastructure such as roads and hospitals, state-owned companies including CRCC have been playing a significant role. It recently announced railway and road deals in Republic of Congo, Libya and Nigeria and the executives had spent a lot of time in Africa.