Obama warns of ETIM threat, calls for anti-terror cooperation

Terrorist groups such as the Eastern Turkestan Islamic Movement (ETIM) should not be allowed to establish a safe haven in ungoverned areas along China's periphery, US President Barack Obama told China's state media.

In the written interview with Xinhua, Obama urged the two nations to increase cooperation against global terrorism, especially "in stemming the flow of foreign terrorist fighters and cracking down on terrorist funding networks".

Beijing regularly blames ETIM for masterminding a series of deadly attacks in Xinjiang , home to the Uygur minority. On March 1, several knife-wielding assailants staged random attacks on civilians at a train station in the southwestern city of Kunming , killing 29 and leaving more than 140 people injured.

China said the attackers were trained and recruited by ETIM.

The US did not list the group as a terrorist organisation until 2002, in the wake of the 9/11 attacks. But even after that, top US leaders have never spoken out against the ethnic-Uygur Muslim separatist group.

Obama's comments came as the US was urging China to work together with it on campaigns against Islamic State in the Middle East. There have been media reports that some Islamic State fighters are Chinese and are associated with ETIM.