PRESIDENT Jiang Zemin warned against splittist activities in Xinjiang when he visited the region this week.
During a five day-trip, Mr Jiang emphasised the importance of unity among ethnic groups and called for joint efforts to persistently crack down on separatist moves.
'We must ensure a stable political situation,' Xinhua quoted Mr Jiang as saying. 'Only by protecting a unified country can we obtain the optimum benefits of a nation.' Mr Jiang was accompanied by new Lanzhou Military Region Commander Guo Boxiong, who was transferred from the Beijing region.
Security departments have identified pro-independence elements in Xinjiang as the main threat to political stability.
Officials are on high alert against the threat of militant Uygur nationalists using terrorist tactics to achieve their goals.
An internal circular said while Beijing had improved ties with Muslim countries bordering the autonomous region, arms and other supplies continued to flow from sympathisers in the Muslim world.
Mr Jiang's trip came immediately after he met the presidents of the so-called Group of Five - including Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Russia - in the former Kazakh capital of Almaty to discuss issues concerning former Sino-Soviet borders.