Memo – China’s Metastasizing Terrorist Threat
Roundtable n°16 of the China Observatory, 13 February, 2017, with Rafaello Pantucci (director of International Security Studies at RUSI (Royal United Services Institute))
While Europe has been engulfed in fear of growing terrorist threats over the past few years, China is also going through an interesting juncture of the growing terrorist threats domestically and abroad. The Chinese embassy bombing attack which occurred in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan in 2016 left a significant mark of the juncture since it became the first attack targeting Chinese nationals in the country and having a clear association with a terrorist group. Indeed, it differed from previous attacks seemingly targeting Chinese nationals abroad, although it remains unclear whether it was terrorist-related or just criminal. Hence, Chinese nationals are increasingly becoming a target of terrorist attacks not only in China but also in foreign countries. This report aims at grasping a big picture of growing terrorist threat faced by China and China’s response to the threat, and prospecting the future.
- The evolution of the terrorist threat
- China’s response to the growing threat
- Conclusion: Prospecting the future of China’s terrorist threat
- Questions and Answers