Ambassadors Roundtable
March 27, 2008
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Remarks made by Ambassador Zhou Wenzhong
Thank you very much for inviting me. The topics I will discuss today are counter-terrorism and Olympic security.
In general, terrorism endangers lives and is a severe challenge to international peace and security. China is a victim of terrorism, and many terror acts have occurred in China since the September 11, 2001 attacks. In the face of severe terrorist threats, we need to fight to improve our legal systems, enhance transnational cooperation, take concrete action to tackle the causes of terrorism, and focus on the prevention of terrorism in developed nations. Terrorism is not linked to any national or ethnic group, and China condemns it in all forms. To eradicate terrorism, a comprehensive approach that includes political, economic and diplomatic efforts are needed to fight its underlying causes. An international counter-terrorism mechanism through the United Nations, its Security Council and General Assembly is needed. The Security Council should play a leading role in the fight against terrorism. China supports all counter-terrorism conventions under the UN rubric including against nuclear terrorism, and we are glad the UN has passed a global strategy to fight terrorism. China is committed to full cooperation in fighting terrorism, and has conducted exercises with other countries to that effect, including the U.S., ASEAN and European Union member states. China also provides support to other countries facing extremism and separatism. China is working to fight the Eastern Turkistan Islamic Movement. Our government is blocking finances going toward the Turkistan group in accordance with domestic laws and international treaties. The group remains the primary threat to China. There are many members at large along with affiliate groups working in some western countries. International cooperation is necessary to sustain our counter-terrorism efforts against the Turkistan movement. In recent years, the U.S. has done substantial work in the counter-terrorism and homeland security sectors. China has much to learn from the U.S. In terms of cooperation, China and the U.S. engage in regular counter-terrorism meetings. Cooperation between our interior ministry and the FBI is good, and will produce more results in the future.
Shanghai Cooperation Organization
The Shanghai Cooperation Organization, founded in June 2001 in Shanghai, has been at the forefront of advances in regional security. The SCO strives hard to maintain stability and advance development in central Asia. The SCO is also earning recognition from other states, and China as a co-founder considers it a high national security priority. In 2007, the SCO held a successful meeting in Kyrgyzstan, where members signed a treaty of cooperation in defense, counter-terrorism, customs enforcement and other mutual security, educational and cultural issues. The continued development of security cooperation is good for the region and the world. The SCO adheres to non-aligned development principles, but is open to outside parties. Generally speaking, the SCO region is stable. However, terrorism, separatism, extremism and drug trafficking does exist and is a growing problem in the region. The United States has good relations with most SCO members. The assertion that the SCO is a political and military group that seeks to counter U.S. interests in Asia is false. The U.S. can find common interests with the SCO on issues such as counter-terrorism, counter-narcotics and trade. The SCO has established a regional counter-terrorism center that conducts exercises on a regular basis. The 2006 SCO summit reiterated combating three forces—terrorism, separatism and extremism—are a top priority. Last year, SCO member states held Peace Mission 2007, a large counter-terrorism exercise that was a complete success and served as a forceful deterrent against those forces in the region that seek instability.
Olympic Games
Preparations for this summer’s Olympic Games are in full swing and on schedule. Organizers have shown remarkable progress. China is looking forward to present our culture to the world and seeing other cultures. Our country has received a lot of attention in the lead up to the Games. Since the SCO action plan in 2002, China has been building up its security measures in preparation for the Games. Organizers have established a command center to promote situational awareness, traffic management, public order, VIP protection, and to respond to any incidents. Each Olympic venue has security features embedded in their infrastructure, including vehicle security. Beijing officials have also created an early warming system throughout the metropolitan area. Taken together, all of these measures have improved pubic safety and security in preparation for the Games. Furthermore, more than 1000 special police forces will be deployed in Beijing. They will be strengthened by modern equipment that will include helicopters. This police force operates with other counter-terrorism forces such as the snow leopard police units. Police units have conducted drills using scenarios such as WMD attacks, hijacking and hooliganism. Beyond the special police units, thousands of security officers, private security guards and security volunteers will be deployed during the Olympic Games. In addition, the People’s Liberation Army will provide any necessary counter-terrorism support. Lastly, we perceive international cooperation on counter-terrorism and related issues to be of paramount importance. Other countries such as the U.S. FBI are playing a positive role in the run-up to the Games, which will be successful.
Resources
Recent Reports:
The Economist: China’s Quest for Resources (March 18, 2008)
Beginning with an overview of China’s worldwide hunger for natural resources, The Economist offers a special report on how China’s growing international presence will mean big effects for Chinese back home.
http://www.economist.com/specialreports/displaystory.cfm?story_id=10795714
CRS Report: China-U.S. Relations: Current Issues and Implications for U.S. Policy (December 21, 2007)
http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/row/RL33877.pdf
This updated report discusses a host of important issues pertinent to Congress affecting U.S.-China relations including military and national security concerns; economic and trade; North Korea; Taiwan; as well as China’s growing global reach. The report notes that while the relationship has been remarkably smooth since late 2001, there are signs that U.S. China policy now is subject to competing reassessments.
CRS Report: U.S.-China Counter-Terrorism Cooperation: Issues for U.S. Policy (October 10, 2007)
http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/terror/RL33001.pdf
Congressional Research Services notes that after the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001, Washington faced a challenge in enlisting the full support of China in counter-terrorism. This effort raised short-term policy issues about how to elicit cooperation and how to address China’s concerns about military action. Longer-term questions have concerned whether counter-terrorism has strategically transformed bilateral relations and whether China’s support has been valuable and not obtained at the expense of other U.S. interests. This concise report published for Congress analyzes U.S.-China counter-terrorism cooperation and options and implications for U.S. policy.
Confronting Terrorism and Other Evils in China: All Quiet on the Western Front?
China and Eurasia Forum Quarterly, Volume 4, No. 2 (2006)
http://www.silkroadstudies.org/new/docs/CEF/Quarterly/May_2006/Chung.pdf
This essay for the Central Asia-Caucasus Institute & Silk Road Studies Program notes that despite the predictions of many observers, and reports of occasional arrests of political activists, China’s restive western regions heavily populated by ethnic minorities have been relatively quiet for a number of years. However, disturbances by ethnic minorities can recur with little forewarning. It also offers Beijing a warning: with the Chinese government yet to acknowledge that closing legitimate channels for expressing grievances by those in the western regions – even if they reflect unhappiness with the political status-quo – may force ordinary Chinese who are not separatists into pursuing violence and terrorism to express their dissatisfaction.
CSIS: U.S.-China Relations: China Signals Irritation with U.S. Policy
Comparative Connections v.9 n.4 (January 2008)
http://www.csis.org/media/csis/pubs/0704qus_china.pdf
Bonnie Glaser of CSIS presents both a 2007 year in review of Sino-U.S. relations, and discusses the relationship heading into 2008. Beginning with the incident in which the USS Kitty Hawk was denied entry to Hong Kong, Glaser charts key political, defense and economic events affecting the U.S.-China relationship in 2007, and notes upcoming meetings in 2008. The essay also offers a detailed chronology of U.S.-China relations from October-December 2007.
Stratfor: China: An Outside-the-Box Terrorist Plot? (March 19, 2008)
http://www.stratfor.com/weekly/china_outside_box_terrorist_plot
Fred Burton and Scott Stewart discuss China’s recent announcement that it had foiled a terrorist plot seeking to destroy an airliner by separatists originating in its western provinces. Specifically, this Stratfor report discusses the veracity of China’s claim that flight crew members aboard a Southern Airlines flight in early March prevented a female passenger from igniting two cans filled with gasoline. The paper discusses the separatist Uighur in western China as well as past terrorist incidents involving jet aircraft.
State Department: Country Reports on Terrorism, Chapter 2 -- Country Reports: East Asia and Pacific Overview (April 30, 2007)
http://www.state.gov/s/ct/rls/crt/2006/82731.htm
Part of an annual State Department report, this chapter discusses the U.S.-China relationship concerning counter terrorism. Specifically, this chapter notes that “China supported several operational and logistical aspects of the War on Terror.” It also notes China increased its counter terrorism capabilities in 2006 with a focus on improving security for the 2008 Beijing Olympics.
Brookings Institution: A Mechanism to Stabilize U.S.-China-Japan Trilateral Relations in Asia (January 2008)
http://www.brookings.edu/papers/2008/01_east_asia_chu.aspx
This Brookings Institution report examines the three East Asia powers—the U.S., Japan, and China—from the context that the whole region’s well-being will depend very much on these countries and their relationship. However, while there have been various talks and processes such as those among Japan, the U.S., and Australia, and among China, Russia, and India, there has not been any mechanism to bring together leaders from Beijing, Washington, and Tokyo to talk about trilateral and regional issues. This report argues for a formal China-U.S.-Japan forum that will improve communication, understanding, consultation, and cooperation in Asia to ensure long-term peace and development in the region.
East Turkestan Terrorism and the Terrorist Arc: China’s Post-9/11 Anti-Terror Strategy
China and Eurasia Forum Quarterly, Volume 4, No. 2 (2006)
http://www.silkroadstudies.org/new/docs/CEF/Quarterly/May_2006/Guang.pdf
This article by Pan Guang of the Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences discusses China’s evolving counter terrorism strategy both prior to and following the September 11, 2001 attacks. Specifically, Guang concentrates his study on the separatist “East Turkestan” movement that originated in the Xinjiang in the early 1990s.
State Department: U.S.-China Relations. Testimony by Thomas J. Christensen, Deputy Assistant Secretary for East Asian and Pacific Affairs before the House Committee on Foreign Affairs, Subcommittee on Asia, the Pacific, and the Global Environment (March 27, 2007).
http://www.america.gov/st/texttrans-english/2007/March/20070327170212eaifas0.5512049.html
In an overview of U.S.-China relations, senior State Department official Thomas J. Christensen discusses China’s continued rise as a global power and how Washington engages with Beijing on a number of key issues. As Christensen notes, “Rather than trying to contain China, we are trying to help shape its choices as it rises in influence so that China plays a responsible and stabilizing role in the international system. Despite some areas of real friction, U.S.-China relations are far from a zero-sum game, and if we manage the relationship well on both sides of the Pacific, we should be able to keep it that way.”
Central Asia-Caucus Institute: Chinese Counter-Terrorist Strike in Xinjiang (March 07, 2007).
http://www.cacianalyst.org/view_article.php?articleid=4735
In the midst of the lead up to next year’s Beijing Olympics and a power struggle in the Chinese Communist Party, a January raid on an alleged terrorist training camp in Xinjiang killed 18 terrorist suspects and one policeman. The raid was also said to have provided new evidence of ties between the East Turkistan Islamic Movement (ETIM) and ‘international terrorist forces’. The raid marks the latest clash between Muslim Uyghur separatists and Chinese security services suppressing opposition to regional Sinification. In this essay, Andrew McGregor offered background on the Chinese Uyghur separatist movement and its implications in China.
News and Resource Links:
--Olympic Security
China Daily: Beijing unveils security plan for Olympics (March 23, 2005)
http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/english/doc/2005-03/23/content_427550.htm
Associated Press: China Might Bar Tiananmen Broadcasts (March 21, 2008)
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080321/ap_on_re_as/oly_china_broadcast_ban
BBC News: China's Olympic security dilemma (March 12, 2008)
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/7292025.stm
Washington Post: China Gears Up for Olympic Security Effort (March 11, 2008)
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/03/10/AR2008031003134.html
AP: China Diverts Plane Because of Liquids (March 10, 2008)
http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory?id=4419088
Sydney Morning Herald: Massive security boost for Beijing Olympics (February 22, 2008)
http://www.smh.com.au/news/the-region/massive-security-boost-for-beijing-olympics/2008/02/22/1203467371441.html
Xinhua: Olympic security concerns suspend part of Beijing nightlife area (February 29, 2008)
http://www.chinadaily.net/olympics/2008-02/29/content_6495557.htm
AP: FBI boss says he is impressed with preparations for Olympic security (January 30, 2008)
http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2008/01/30/news/China-FBI.php
The New York Times: China Finds American Allies for Security (December 28, 2007)
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/12/28/business/worldbusiness/28security.html?ex=1356498000&en=fc04f0dbb3afb4fe&ei=5088&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss
--Tibet and Chinese accusations of terrorism
Channel News Asia: China says Dalai Lama targeting Olympics (March 24, 2008)
http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/afp_asiapacific/view/336800/1/.html
Reuters: Rice: China Should Reach Out to Dalai Lama on Tibet (March 20, 2008)
http://www.reuters.com/article/topNews/idUSN2023019520080320?feedType=RSS&feedName=topNews
The New York Times: China Steps Up Its Accusations Against the Dalai Lama (March 19, 2008)
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/19/world/asia/19tibet.html?scp=3&sq=Dalai+Lama&st=nyt
The New York Times: China Premier Blames Dalai Lama for ‘Appalling’ Violence in Tibet (March 18, 2008)
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/18/world/asia/18tibet.html?scp=10&sq=Dalai+Lama&st=nyt
--Miscellaneous Terrorism issues
Washington Post: FBI Opens Probe of China-Based Hackers (March 21, 2008)
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/03/20/AR2008032003193.html
Jamestown Foundation China Brief: Anti-Terrorism with Chinese Characteristics: Peace Mission 2007 in Context (October 31, 2007)
http://jamestown.org/china_brief/article.php?articleid=2373758
China Daily: SCO members tackle terrorism (August 18, 2007)
http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/china/2007-08/18/content_6032772.htm
Jamestown Foundation: China’s Post 9/11 Terrorism Strategy (April 15, 2004)
http://www.jamestown.org/publications_details.php?volume_id=395&issue_id=2935&article_id=236613
The White House: U.S., China Stand Against Terrorism: Remarks by President Bush and President Jiang Zemin in Press Availability Western Suburb Guest House (October 2001)
http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2001/10/20011019-4.html
CIA World Factbook China
https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/ch.html
BBC Country Profile: China
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/country_profiles/1287798.stm
Ambassador Zhou Wenzhong
Ambassador Zhou Wenzhong was born in Jiangsu Province, China in August 1945. He attended Bath University and London School of Economics of the United Kingdom. Soon after, he served as a staff member of the Beijing Service Bureau for Diplomatic Missions and staff member of the Department of Translation and Interpretation, Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Then he served as Attaché and then Third Secretary of the Embassy of the People’s Republic of China in the United States, then Second Secretary, Deputy Division Director and then Division Director of the Department of Translation and Interpretation, Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Later he moved on to Consul General (Ambassadorial Rank) of the People’s Republic of China in Los Angeles, then Minister and DCM of the Embassy of China in the United States. Then he became the Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of China to the Commonwealth of Australia. In 2001-2003, he served as Assistant Minister of Foreign Affairs. After this he became the Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs until he took his current position as Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the People’s Republic of China to the United States.
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The Ambassadors Roundtable Series is designed to provide Ambassadors to the United States and their key diplomatic staff with a forum to discuss current and future counterterrorism and counterinsurgency efforts on a regional or country-specific basis. In an effort to draw upon various insights and experiences, the Ambassadors Roundtable Series builds upon and institutionalizes efforts over the past two years to engage in a dialogue with members of the international community, policy makers, and practitioners.
