China praises Afghanistan for fight against Chinese separatist group
BEIJING - China's defence minister met the head of Afghanistan's army, thanking him for Kabul's support in fighting what Beijing says is an extremist group that seeks to split off its western region of Xinjiang.
China has long been concerned that instability in Afghanistan will spill over into violence-prone Xinjiang, home to the Muslim Uighur people, where hundreds have died in recent years in unrest blamed by Beijing on Islamist extremists.
The United States and the United Nations have listed the East Turkestan Islamic Movement (ETIM) as a terrorist group, though some experts have questioned its cohesiveness and say China's policies in Xinjiang have contributed to unrest.
