President,

I welcome His Excellency Foreign Minister Dr. Jaishankar presiding over today's meeting. I have listened attentively to the briefings by Under-Secretary-General Voronkov, Acting Executive Director Chen Weixiong, and civil society representative Ms. Kulthe. I wish to take this opportunity to thank the UN Office of Counter-Terrorism and the Counter-Terrorism Committee Executive Directorate for their important contributions to the global counter-terrorism endeavor.

Combating terrorism is the shared responsibility of the international community, and a major duty of the Security Council. Thanks to years of efforts, progress has been made in international counter-terrorism cooperation. Yet the situation is still grave, and much remains to be done, hence the need for continued efforts by the international community. As we speak, global terrorist activities are resurging even faster, with terrorist groups such as Da’esh, Al-Qaeda, and the East Turkistan Islamic Movement running amok. Recently ISIL-K attacked a hotel in Kabul, Afghanistan, causing casualties. China strongly condemns this attack, and supports Afghanistan in combating all forms of terrorism and violence. This terrorist attack is yet another stark reminder that terrorism is the public enemy of humanity, and the international community must step up coordination and cooperation to effectively combat terrorism, and to do everything possible to prevent the spread of terrorist forces. I wish to underscore the following three points.

First, we should further consolidate the political will on counter-terrorism cooperation for maximized synergy. Terrorism is a global challenge. The prevalence of this phenomenon, the complexity of organizational networks, the frequent movements of terrorists, and its extremely deleterious effects are beyond the capacity for any country or region to tackle on its own. All countries should be aware that we are a community of shared security. It is our common interest to comprehensively, accurately, and steadfastly implement all counter-terrorism resolutions of the General Assembly and the Security Council, and crack down on all terrorist organizations and individuals listed by the Council. Certain countries back-pedaled on terrorism issues in recent years. China finds this deeply regrettable. Politicizing and instrumentalizing counter-terrorism issues, and pursuing double standards or selective approach will ultimately harm oneself as well as others, and undermine the overall global counter-terrorism cooperation. In the face of the common threat of terrorism, all parties should abandon geopolitical calculation and ideological bias, earnestly step up practical counter-terrorism cooperation in the judicial and other fields, support the UN’s central coordinating role, and expedite the negotiations of the Comprehensive Convention on International Terrorism.

Second, we should further optimize resource allocation with a greater focus on the regions of the highest priority and the most pressing issues in counter-terrorism cooperation. In recent years, the direct terrorist threats faced by developed countries have decreased, leading to a relative decline in investments in counter-terrorism cooperation, and thus a shortfall of counter-terrorism resources globally. Regions such as Africa, Middle East, and Central Asia are at the forefront of the global counter-terrorism efforts. These regions face the most direct terrorist threats, and suffer the most serious terrorist attacks. Therefore, their needs for upgraded counter-terrorism capabilities are the most urgent. The UN and the international community should, in light of this needs, appropriately increase resource allocation to help developing countries strengthen their counter-terrorism capacity-building at the legislative, judicial, and law-enforcement levels. Counter-terrorism situation varies from one region to another, which calls for contextualized and targeted measures to prevent terrorists from abusing the Internet and new and emerging technologies to incite, plan, and carry out terrorist acts, or to recruit and finance. We should take seriously the threats posed by the backflow of foreign terrorist fighters, and make proper repatriation and resettlement plans for those terrorist fighters stranded in foreign countries. Efforts should be made to effectively block the diverse channels of terrorist financing, and take a multi-pronged approach to sever the ties between terrorism and organized crimes.

Third, we should continue to address both the symptoms and root causes of terrorism and striving to eradicate terrorism at its source. Military means alone can hardly achieve this. We must give equal emphasis to tackling both the symptoms and root causes, and harness political, economic, judicial, and other means to respond holistically. It is essential to pursue political solutions to hotspot issues, help countries concerned improve their humanitarian situation, and prevent terrorist forces from feeding on instability. Underdevelopment is one root driver of terrorist forces’ inception and growth. While resolutely fighting all terrorists, countries should give due regard to economic recovery, poverty eradication, education, and employment, and pursue sustainable development pathways tailored to their own national conditions, so as to minimize the living space of extremist ideologies and gradually eliminate the breeding ground of terrorism. At present, the global development career is suffering setbacks. Developing countries urgently need more international support. The international community should place the development agenda front and center, increase development assistance, and help countries concerned root out terrorism through development.

President,

China always attaches great importance to and has been actively engaged in international counter-terrorism cooperation. In recent years, through the China-UN Peace and Development Trust Fund, we have supported the projects of UNOCT and other agencies, and by conducting training, providing equipment and holding international counter-terrorism seminars, helped countries in Africa and Central Asia prevent and combat terrorism. Chinese President Xi Jinping put forward the Global Security Initiative and the Global Development Initiative, advocating a common, comprehensive, cooperative, and sustainable security concept and promoting the implementation of the 2030 Agenda. This is of major practical significance to deepening international counter-terrorism cooperation, eliminating the root causes of terrorism, and maintaining common security and development. China stands ready to work with all parties to implement these two major initiatives, and make new contributions to international counter-terrorism endeavor.

Thank you, President.