A Chinese-language song purportedly released by Daesh shows the need for closer global cooperation against terrorism, China's Foreign Ministry said on Tuesday, as a senior official said the fight against terrorism had made progress.
China relies on the Middle East for oil supplies, but tends to leave diplomacy there to the other permanent members of the U.N. Security Council, namely the United States, Britain, France and Russia.
It has urged greater coordination to fight terrorism after attacks in Mali and Paris and the downing of a Russian warplane by Turkey over violation of its airspace, but has long said there is no military solution in Syria, with state media criticizing the West and Russia for air strikes there.
Over the weekend, Daesh's propaganda arm, Al Hayat media centre, appears to have put online a recording in Mandarin that exhorted its "Muslim brothers" to awaken.
In the four-minute song titled "I am Mujahid", a man chants: "To die fighting on the battlefield is my dream," and "No force can stop our advance".
Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said she could not comment on whether the recording was issued by Daesh, but said it showed that "terrorism is the common enemy of mankind" and the need to stop terrorists using the Internet.
"In the face of terrorism, no country can stand on its own, and the international community should stand closer together and cooperate to jointly strike against all forms of terrorism," Hua told a regular news briefing on Tuesday.
Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Cheng Guoping told a separate briefing Beijing had already joined in anti-terrorism cooperation with Washington and Moscow, but gave no details.
"At present, relevant countries have proactively coordinated and consulted on their anti-Daesh actions in Syria and they have had definite progress on fighting terrorism," Cheng added.
As China's economic and business interests abroad grow, it has increasingly been affected by the activities of militant groups.
Three Chinese executives were killed in Mali when terrorists stormed a hotel, and Beijing vowed justice when the Daesh killed a Chinese captive in November.
The government says it faces a serious threat from militants and separatists in energy-rich Xinjiang, where hundreds of Uighurs have died in violence in recent years.
Rights groups, however, doubt that a cohesive militant group exists there, saying the violence stems from popular anger at Chinese controls on religion and culture.
