China vows to improve terror intelligence cooperation with US amid threat from Islamist militant Uygurs in Xinjiang

China and the United States will improve cooperation on fighting militancy, including intelligence exchanges, and work together to bring peace to Afghanistan, China’s foreign ministry said after a leaders’ summit in Washington.

China says it faces a serious threat from Islamist militants in its far western region of Xinjiang, where hundreds have died in violence in recent years.

However, exiles and rights groups say China has never presented convincing evidence of the existence of a cohesive militant group fighting the government, and that much of the unrest can be traced back to frustration at controls over the culture and religion of the Uygur people who live in Xinjiang.

Worries over human rights violations have also meant China has traditionally received little cooperation from Western countries in dealing with the issue.