Explosions at Urumqi market cause deaths, injuries

An unknown number of people were killed and injured after explosions occurred Thursday morning at an open market in Urumqi, capital of northwest China’s Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region.

All the injured were rushed to several hospitals, police said.

Witnesses said two cross-country vehicles driving from north to south ploughed into people in the market at 7:50 a.m. Explosives were thrown out of the vehicles.

One of the vehicles exploded in the market.

A business runner in the market told Xinhua he heard a dozen of big bangs.

The open air morning market is located near the Renmin Park in downtown Urumqi. Ambulance and police cars are parking at the entrance of Park North Street leading to the market.

Flames and heavy smoke were seen. The scene has been cordoned off.

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US must ‘get used to China’s rise’

Washington’s engagement in territorial issues ‘complicates problems’

Chinese and Western observers seemed to reach a consensus on Wednesday over President Xi Jinping’s proposal to establish a new framework for security cooperation in Asia, and he also sent a veiled warning to Washington.

“To beef up a military alliance targeting a third party is not conducive to regional common security,” Xi said without mentioning the United States when delivering a keynote speech at a regional security forum in Shanghai on Wednesday.

Provocation and escalation of tensions for selfish interests should be opposed, he told participants at the fourth Summit of the Conference on Interaction and Confidence Building Measures in Asia, including representatives from Japan, the Philippines and Vietnam.

Instead, Beijing is urging Washington to get used to China’s rise and take a proper role in the region, which is the world’s economic engine but is also prone to security threats.

“Someone who tries to blow out another’s oil lamp will set his beard on fire,” the president said, quoting a Kazakh proverb, drawing the attention of Kazakh reporters who were watching the live feed of the speech in the media center.

Xi’s remarks came amid recent escalating tension in the South China Sea as some Asian countries, especially those having territorial rows with China, have sought to reaffirm their security ties with Washington.

Pang Zhongying, a professor of international affairs at Renmin University of China, said: “It is time to tell the US it is not justified in interfering in Asia’s affairs, which have nothing to do with the country.”

Washington’s engagement in Asia’s territorial issues, for example, has complicated the problems and emboldened its allies, he said.

During an Asian tour last month, US President Barack Obama sought to reassure Washington’s traditional allies like Tokyo and Manila about its long-promised strategic pivot toward the Asia-Pacific, widely regarded as an attempt to counter China.

Ruan Zongze, vice-president of the China Institute of International Studies, said the alliance, a product of the Cold War, deepened divisions in Asia while weakening regional willingness for economic cooperation.

“Many countries tend to give up diplomatic efforts as they believe they can just rely on such an alliance to bolster their illegal claims over territory and sea,” Ruan said.

Xi spoke against a zero-sum, Cold War concept of security, saying “no country should attempt to dominate regional security affairs or infringe upon the legitimate rights and interests of other countries”.

Security problems in Asia should eventually be solved by Asians themselves, he said, reiterating China’s stance to resolve disputes peacefully and to oppose the arbitrary use of force or threats.

Jia Xiudong, a senior researcher on international affairs at the China Institute of International Studies, said, “A US role in Asia is not unthinkable for China, and its constructive role is very welcome in some multilateral problems.”

“But it’s a pity that what Washington is doing now is far from being constructive,” Jia added.

Pang said the US has to accept the fact that China is developing in an age of global transformation, but China is not building another alliance to target any third party.

By ZHAO SHENGNAN in Shanghai (China Daily)

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Few Barriers to China’s Push in South China Sea

China’s planting of an oil platform in contested waters off Vietnam drew robust complaints from Hanoi, a messy standoff between ships and violent protests among Vietnamese — but nothing to dislodge the rig and no broader pushback in the region.

Southeast Asian countries, with diverging interests and wariness of angering Beijing, are shunning any collective action that might halt China as it relentlessly nudges forward its sovereignty claims in disputed seas seen as a possible flashpoint for the world’s next major conflict.

Despite its accusations of Chinese bullying, Vietnam can expect little in the way of outside help as its patrol boats continue to spar with Chinese vessels guarding the rig in the South China Sea.

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China: American pivot to Asia needs ‘rebalancing’

The Obama Administration’s much-touted pivot to Asia, a careful balance between supporting U.S. allies and assuring China that America supports its rise, may need to be recalibrated, Chinese Ambassador to the U.S. Cui Tiankai told CNN’s Christiane Amanpour on Tuesday.

“I’m not questioning the intention of the U.S. government,” Ambassador Cui said. “I’m looking at the effect, the results of the U.S. policies towards Asia, towards China and what they have done and said recently.”

“And honestly, I think the key to this rebalancing is to maintain a good relationship with everybody in Asia-Pacific, including particularly China. And in this sense, I think this policy of rebalancing might need some rebalancing itself.”

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China calls for new security pact with Russia, Iran

China’s president called Tuesday for the creation of a new Asian structure for security cooperation based on a regional group that includes Russia and Iran and excludes the United States.

President Xi Jinping spoke at a meeting in Shanghai of the Conference on Interaction and Confidence-building measures in Asia, an obscure group that has taken on significance as Beijing tries to extend its influence and limit the role of the United States, which it sees as a strategic rival.

“We need to innovate our security cooperation (and) establish new regional security cooperation architecture,” said Xi, speaking to an audience that included President Vladimir Putin of Russia and leaders of Central Asian countries.

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Cyberthief crying wolf

The US department of justice’s decision to charge five People’s Liberation Army officers for “business spying” is ill-advised, if not downright stupid.

The initial response from Beijing is that the charge is a pompous farce that will in no way advance American interests.

In addition to a flat denial of US accusations, which lack any credible evidence, Beijing has struck back, presenting proof that the US is “the present-day world’s biggest cyberthief”, and “the foremost state sponsor of cyberattacks on China”.

The statistical information about US cyber intrusions the Chinese authorities produced makes it difficult for Washington to proclaim its own innocence.

The US indictment appears particularly awkward because Washington is simply rubbing salt into its bleeding wound from Edward Snowden’s revelations. It is common knowledge that China, its military in particular, is the biggest online target of the omnipresent US National Security Agency and US Cyber Command.

It is thus a matter of course that Beijing should call the indictment a cock-and-bull story and a thief crying catch thief.

Nor can Washington expect any sympathy from Chinese Internet users. To them, the indictment is but an additional footnote to US hypocrisy.

The charges are said to underscore a longtime Obama administration goal to prosecute state-sponsored cyber threats. Yet the Snowden leaks seem to indicate that the NSA and US Cyber Command are the most formidable state-sponsored cyber threats in today’s world. If they can be exonerated for what they have done and are still doing, blaming anyone else is shameless double standards.

US Attorney General Eric Holder should know very well that an indictment like this has little chance of being executed. Those charged are far away in their home country, where neither the government nor the people accept the legitimacy of the US charges. More important, the charge itself is flawed in both moral and jurisprudential terms.

It is yet to be seen if Beijing will make a tit-for-tat response by prosecuting specific Americans, which will be fully justifiable. But Beijing has already determined to suspend the work of a joint panel on Internet security, on the grounds that the Americans lack sincerity in the dialogue to establish a cooperative approach to cyber security.

The indictment will prove a sorrowful miscalculation, because Washington has nothing to win and a lot to lose.

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Xi pledges “zero tolerance” for terrorism, separatism, extremism in Asian security cooperation

Chinese President Xi Jinping on Wednesday pledged “zero tolerance” for terrorism, separatism and extremism in carrying out security cooperation among Asian countries.

Xi made the pledge in a key-note speech on a new Asian security concept delivered at the fourth summit of the Conference on Interaction and Confidence Building Measures in Asia held in east China’s Shanghai on Tuesday and Wednesday.

“We should strengthen … international and regional cooperation, and step up the fight against the ‘three forces,’ in order to bring a life of happiness and tranquility to the people of this region,” Xi said.

In his speech, Xi stressed the importance of safeguarding the comprehensive security of the region, which means upholding security in both traditional and non-traditional fields.

Asia’s security challenges are extremely complicated, which include both hotspot and sensitive issues and ethnic and religious problems, he noted.

The challenges brought by terrorism, transnational crimes, environmental security, cyber security, energy and resource security and major natural disasters are clearly on the rise, Xi said.

“We should take into full account the historical background and reality of Asia’s security issues, adopt a multi-pronged and holistic approach, and enhance regional security governance in a coordinated way,” he said.

“While tackling the immediate security challenges facing the region, we should also make plans for addressing potential security threats, and avoid a fragmented and palliative approach that only treats the symptoms,” the Chinese president added.

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