Mehdi Khoorsand, while referring to the statements of the Chinese ambassador to the United Nations regarding the necessity of fighting terrorism and criticism of double standards and selective treatment, told the Strategic Council on Foreign Relations that China has warned that politicization and instrumentalization of issues related to the fight against terrorism and the imposition of double standards or selective approaches ultimately would harm countries that adopt such approaches as well as other countries while weakening general global counterterrorism cooperation.

He added that China’s warnings and attention to the need to deal with terrorism and the category of religious extremism go back to several issues, and one of the reasons is that Beijing has focused on the South-South strategy and the development of relations with developing countries in the path of development. They have plans to be present and invest in almost all developing countries, but due to the roots or activities of religious extremism in these countries, these plans are at risk.

He explained that for example, although Beijing had a large investment in Pakistan, but the political unrest in this country, the removal of its prime minister, the cancellation of the ceasefire by the Pakistan Tahrik-e-Taliban with the government, and the intensification of terrorist activities on the border of Afghanistan and Pakistan, as well as the movements of terrorist groups in Afghanistan, including the “Khorasan branch of Daesh” and “Al-Qaeda”, which have gradually intensified over the past months and weeks, have caused China to face ambiguities in justifying its investments.

Referring to the importance of maintaining stability and security for investors, this East Asian expert said that since China has many interests in many developing countries, it monitors these issues with sensitivity. Of course, they have faced terrorism and extremism during the last four decades. In fact, after the collapse of the Soviet Union, “Shanghai 5” was the first regional entity that was formed by China and centered on them in 1992 due to Beijing’s security concerns due to the lack of a powerful central government in the newly independent Soviet republics. They have always been exposed to insecurity caused by terrorism; As we witnessed the Chinese hostages in a hotel in Afghanistan.

Referring to China’s large investments in West Asia and the importance of improving counterterrorism capabilities among these countries, Khoorsand added that pursuing political solutions for important issues, helping countries to improve their human condition, economic improvement, eradicating poverty, education, employment, preventing the feeding of terrorist forces from instability and helping to take the path of development are important issues that China emphasizes the need for developing countries to pay attention to, and in fact, it considers underdevelopment as one of the main factors in the formation and growth of terrorist forces. In addition, China believes that some countries do not abandon geopolitical calculations and ideological bias in the face of terrorism and do not have practical cooperation to fight terrorism.

He stated that in previous years, China has put forward initiatives such as “Global Security” and “Global Development Initiative” to lead to the control of extremism, and continued that a few months after Xi Jinping took office, China’s development focus was placed on creating a balance in its eastern and western regions. Their eastern wing is very developed, but as we go to the west, we see poorer provinces and people who happen to be affected by religious extremism. Beijing has come to the conclusion that it cannot prevent separatism and extremism in these regions by repression and intimidation, but must keep them dependent on the central government of China through economic development and prosperity.

This analyst of East Asian issues said that after 2013, all China’s transit and oil and gas megaprojects have moved to the west of this country and they are looking for balanced development. In fact, they have gained an understanding about development from the inside, and from this path, they believe that development can be a way to deal with extremism and terrorism.

Referring to the evaluations regarding the superiority of China’s position and power over the US in the coming years, Khoorsand added that considering that China is on the verge of changing the playing field of the international system, it usually raises criticisms against the existing order. In addition, we repeatedly witness the use of double standards in the fight against terrorism by Western countries, especially the United States. In this regard, even some positions are proposed with the sole purpose of putting pressure on competing and independent countries.

Emphasizing that after the Second World War, international institutions have been provided to the United States as a tool that can hinder the development of countries and harm them through their double perceptions of standards, he said that China, by criticizing these positions, refers to the obstacles that the US creates in the development of countries and can cause the escalation of terrorism. China knows that after the realization of the US conspiracies against independent, rival and critic countries like Russia and Iran, Beijing will become the next target of conspiracies to advance its goals through any means, even the spread of insecurity and the growth of terrorism. In fact, China is more concerned about its national interests and not the sublime concepts that the United States violates on the way to its own interests.