Local residents drink tea and chat at a century-old teahouse of a scenic spot in the ancient city of Kashgar, northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, May 17, 2020. (Xinhua/Zhao Ge)
BEIJING, March 16 (Xinhua) -- Recently, some Western countries and forces have wantonly discredited China and slandered China's policies on Xinjiang-related issues. In fact, they are using Xinjiang-related issues as an excuse to attack China and interfere in China's internal affairs in an attempt to undermine China's development, African ambassadors to China said Monday.
Adama Compaore, ambassador of Burkina Faso to China, Daniel Owassa, the Republic of Congo's ambassador to China, and Gafar Karar, ambassador of the Republic of Sudan to China, spoke at the Seventh Ambassador Lecture themed "Xinjiang in the Eyes of African Ambassadors to China" held in Beijing.
Hailing the economic, educational and social development of Xinjiang, Compaore noted the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, the World Bank, and countries including Egypt, Pakistan, Afghanistan and Thailand have all sent delegations to visit Xinjiang, and they appreciated China's anti-terrorism and de-radicalization efforts.
"Some Western forces hyping up the so-called Xinjiang-related issues are actually launching unprovoked attacks on China to serve their own ulterior motives," he said.
Owassa said he supports a series of anti-terrorism measures taken by the Chinese government in Xinjiang and appreciates Xinjiang's great development achievements in various fields in recent years.
Xinjiang, along with the rest of the nation, has eliminated absolute poverty, he said, adding that China's remarkable achievements in poverty reduction highlight the political advantages of the leadership of the Communist Party of China and China's socialist system.
Karar has visited Xinjiang three times and witnessed its development and changes over the past years. He said the Chinese government has effectively cracked down on terrorist activities and effectively protected the lives and property of the people of Xinjiang.
During his visit to Xinjiang, he saw with his own eyes that the people of Xinjiang enjoy a safe living environment and complete freedom, he added.
Nearly 80 Chinese scholars from the China-Africa Institute, the Xinjiang Think Tank of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences and the Institute of Chinese Borderland Studies of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences attended the event. ■
