China is ready to advance cooperation with Turkey in combatting terrorism to better fulfill the common task of safeguarding national unification and territorial integrity and opposing separatism, Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi said in Beijing Sunday.

Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi (R) meets with visiting Turkish State Minister Zafer Caglayan who paid the visit to China as special envoy of Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, in Beijing, capital of China, Aug. 30, 2009. [Pang Xinglei/Xinhua]

Yang made the remarks when meeting in Beijing with Turkish State Minister Zafer Caglayan, who paid the visit to China as special envoy of Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

The visit "indicated Turkey's political will to further its relationship with China," Yang said during the one-hour meeting, adding China attached great importance to promoting the ties with Turkey.

China was ready to strengthen the bilateral relations on the basis of universally recognized norms of international relations, he said.

Yang said China always held that safeguarding the overall development of the bilateral relations could serve the fundamental interests of the two peoples.

Both China and Turkey were faced with common tasks of protecting national unification and territorial integrity. The two countries enjoyed long-standing coordination in security fields including anti-terrorism, Yang said.

China would work with Turkey to boost the cooperation in this regard, so as to better carry out the common task of safeguarding national unification and territorial integrity and opposing separatism, he said.

Yang also said that the July 5 riot in Urumqi was neither an ethnic problem nor a religious issue, but an incident plotted and organized by the "East Turkestan" separatist forces both inside and outside China. It had a profound political background.

The riot, taking place on July 5 in capital of the northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, left 197 people dead and more than 1,600 others injured.

Yang said the "East Turkestan" separatist forces' nature and harm was disclosed in the the riot as it seriously jeopardized the lives, property of the Chinese people of various ethnic groups, and the local stability.

The measures taken by the Chinese government to deal with the incident according to law won wholehearted support of the local people of all ethnic groups, Yang said.

Caglayan reiterated Turkey's adherence to the one-China policy and its respect for China's sovereignty and territorial integrity.

The two peoples had a long history of friendship, and the two countries enjoyed "sound cooperation" in areas such as fighting terrorism, Caglayan said, adding Turkey would like to keep close contact with China in this area.

"Turkey will endeavor to develop a strong relationship with China, through deepening bilateral cooperation," he said.

Caglayan, who arrived in Beijing Saturday, also said the success of Turkish President Abdullah Gul's visit to China in June had exerted profound influence on the bilateral relations.

During his four-day stay in China, Caglayan was also scheduled to meet Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao and visit Xinjiang, according to Chinese Foreign Ministry.

(Xinhua News Agency August 31, 2009)