Unity, solidarity will triumph over terrorism

China has pledged to up its fight against terrorism in the wake of a deadly attack in Urumqi on late Wednesday, but a more important battle has to be fought on the fronts of unity and solidarity.

News of the terrorist attack in Urumqi, capital of northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, has deeply unnerved the nation that has hardly recovered from a violent assault in Yunnan Province just two months ago.

According to latest figures, three people were confirmed dead and 79 injured, after mobs slashed people at the exit of the South Railway Station of Urumqi on Wednesday evening and set off explosives.

No group has claimed responsibility for the attack, which came just as Chinese President Xi Jinping concluded a four-day tour of the region.

It is no coincidence that terrorists staged the attack at this time.

On Saturday last week before heading for Xinjiang, Xi said that China faced increasing threats to national security and warned of the dangers of terrorism at a group study session of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee.

He ordered efforts "to resolutely stamp out the brazenness of the terrorists", adding that the Chinese public must build a "wall of bronze and iron" to fight terrorism, and "make terrorists like rats scurrying across a street, with everybody shouting 'beat them'".

Even during his Xinjiang trip, the president did not forget the importance of counter-terrorism, vowing to deploy a "strike-first" strategy in Xinjiang to deter enemies and inspire people.

Experts believe Wednesday's attack, which came days after Xi's comments, is meant to challenge Xi's determination, but the terrorists are mistaken if they think such violence will force a nation of 1.3 billion people to bow down.

Speaking early on Thursday, Xi Jinping said "the battle to combat violence and terrorism will not allow even a moment of slackness, and decisive action must be taken to suppress the terrorists' momentum."

While the "decisive action" ordered by Xi are important, unity and solidarity will be significant forces to deter terrorism.

Leaders have repeatedly stressed the importance of ethnic unity and have put increasing focus on the well-being of local people in the region.

On his latest trip to Xinjiang, President Xi said unity and fighting separatism are of the utmost importance and in the basic interests of all ethnic groups in the region. He instructed local governments to focus on economic development to improve the lives of ordinary people and spend more resources on employment, alleviating poverty in rural areas and protecting the environment.

Noting that the President had paid considerable attention to issues concerning people's livelihoods, Zeng Heping of Xinjiang academy of social sciences, said the instruction carried an important message, that ethnic unity and people's well-being are the key to regional stability.

Wednesday's attack is unlikely to be the end of attempts to disrupt peace and social stability.

A long-term mechanism therefore must be built to ward off similar bloodshed in Xinjiang in the future.

It could take a long time for Xinjiang to completely remove its stability threats. In this sense, unity and solidarity constitute a better tool to build the "wall of bronze and iron" China needs.