Madam Chairperson,

Let me begin by congratulating you on your assumption of the chairmanship of this committee. My congratulation also goes to the other members of the bureau.

The Chinese delegation associates itself with the statement by H.E.Ambassador Aitimova, Permanent Representative of Kazakhstan, on behalf of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization.

Madam Chairperson,

The Chinese government has always rejected and condemned terrorism in all its forms and manifestations. We are opposed to resorting to terrorism as ways and means for political purposes.It is the consistent view of the Chinese government that in combating terrorism, it is imperative to strictly abide by the UN Charter and relevant norms of the international law, and to refrain from double standards and from linking terrorism with specific civilization, ethnic group or religion. In the view of my government, for the counter-terrorism measures by the international community to achieve practical results, it is necessary to focus both on prevention and on punishment and to address both the manifestations and the root causes. While engaged in the fight against terrorism, we must also pay attention to the elimination of the sources of terrorism and commit ourselves to addressing the deep-rooted problems such as conflicts, poverty, social turbulence and the strong using their power to bully the weak.

China supports the efforts of the international community to eliminate international terrorism and supports the United Nations, the Security Council and the General Assembly in particular, in playing a leading and coordinating role in the

international fight against terrorism. We endorse the United Nations Global Counter-Terrorism Strategy adopted by the GA, and welcome the recently conducted second review of this Strategy. We are of the opinion that individual country shall strictly implement the counter-terrorism resolutions of the Security Council, and strengthen international counter-terrorism cooperation. The Counter-Terrorism Implementation Task Force, the Security Council Counter-Terrorism Committee, the 1267 Committee and other UN counter-terrorism institutions shall enhance coordination and cooperation, exerting corresponding advantages in accordance with their respective mandates. China hopes that the UN could push forward to improve the level of assistance to the developing countries so that to enhance their capacity-building for the purpose of counter-terrorism. The Shanghai Cooperation Organization is a critical player for fighting against terrorism in its own region. China supports SCO to reinforce its cooperation with the UN in the field of counter-terrorism.

China has always actively participated in international anti-terrorism cooperation. In August this year, our National People’s Congress made the decision to ratify the International Convention for the Suppression of Acts of Nuclear Terrorism.The Document of Ratification will be deposited with the Secretary-General of the United Nations very soon. Therefore the number of couter-terrorism conventions under the frame work of United Nations which China is a party will be added to 12. As a consequence, the legal basis for international cooperation against terrorism between China and other countries will be furthur expanded.The Chinese government works conscientiously to implement the Security Council sanctions resolutions and endeavors to effectively monitor and regulate institutions and individuals concerned. At the regional level, my government is continuing efforts to conclude bilateral counter-terrorism treaties with neighboring countries and make full use of regional counter-terrorism institutions under the Shanghai Cooperation Orgainzation and the relevant legal instruments to carry out cooperation and exchanges in this field.

Madam Chairperson,

The progress of science and technology have brought members of the international community ever more closely together and terrorist activities have also become more international in character and more diversified in tactics, which has posed higher demands for international cooperation against terrorism. In order to further improve the current legal framework for the international cooperation against terrorism, China supports the formulation of a comprehensive convention on international terrorism. We have noted the slow progress of the drafting work owing to the difference of views among various parties on some issues and we call on the parties concerned to demonstrate political will and take a cooperative and constructive approach to the drafting work so that progress can be made and feasible solutions found as soon as possible. In addition, China supports the holding of a high-level meeting on terrorism under the aegis of the UN when conditions are ripe because we believe such a meeting will help in providing policy guidance to the international legal cooperation against terrorism.

Madam Chairperson,

The Chinese government is willing to strengthen cooperation with the international community and make relentless efforts to effectively combat international terrorism and maintain international peace and security.

Thank you, Madam Chairperson.