Beijing and Bishkek to boost cooperation

For Xi Jinping, Kyrgyzstan leader, anti-terror efforts key to security

China will expand its security cooperation with Kyrgyzstan to combat extremist and terrorist forces, President Xi Jinping said on Friday.

“China expects to deepen security cooperation with Kyrgyzstan to combat together the three evil forces including the East Turkestan Islamic Movement and maintain security and stability in the two countries and the region,” Xi told Kyrgyzstani President Almazbek Atambayev when they met at the Diaoyutai State Guesthouse in Beijing.

With “three evil forces”, Xi was referring to terrorism, separatism and extremism, which have posed long-term security concerns in the region.

Atambayev vowed “close” security cooperation with China and to “resolutely combat the three evil forces”.

At the start of the new year, the Chinese embassy in Bishkek decided to continue issuing security warnings to Chinese citizens going to the neighboring country until June 30.

The embassy started the warnings after it was attacked by a suicide car bomber on Aug 30. Three embassy personnel were injured.

Kyrgyzstan later confirmed that the attacker was a member of the East Turkestan Islamic Movement.

On Jan 4, Turkey confirmed that the Reina nightclub attacker, who opened fire on hundreds of people and killed 39 at a New Year’s party in the early hours of Jan 1 in central Istanbul, is from Kyrgyzstan.

However, Bishkek has denied that claim, saying no Kyrgyzstani citizens were involved in the attack.

Xu Tao, a Central Asia studies researcher at the China Institutes of Contemporary International Relations, said terrorist threats are a crossborder problem in Central Asia.

“At the moment, the complex anti-terror situation in the Middle East has pushed terroriststogo back to Central Asia, a phenomenon that has drawn close attention from countries in the region, including China and Kyrgyzstan,” he said.

The meeting of the two presidents on Friday came one day after their countries celebrated the 25th anniversary of bilateral ties.

According to figures from Kyrgyzstan, trade with China reached $1.29 billion in the first 10 months of 2016, a 50 percent year-on-year increase.

The volume accounted for nearly 30 percent of the Central Asian country’s foreign trade.

China is also Kyrgyzstan’s largest investor and loan provider.