Symptoms, root causes of atrocities must be addressed, president says

The deadly terrorist attacks in Paris have again shown that the international community must join hands in further stepping up cooperation to fight terrorism, President Xi Jinping said on Sunday.

Xi said there is a particular need to "address both the symptoms and root causes" of such attacks and there should be "no double standards".

He made the comments when addressing the routine informal meeting of leaders from BRICS nations in Antalya, Turkey.

Top leaders of the five leading emerging economies - Brazil, China, India, Russia and South Africa - attended the gathering ahead of the annual G20 summit on Sunday and Monday.

The G20 was expected to issue a statement on combating terrorism following Friday's attacks in Paris that killed at least 129 people and injured hundreds more. The Islamic State group has claimed responsibility.

On Saturday, Xi extended condolences to French President Francois Hollande over the attacks and said in a telegram that China has always opposed all forms of terrorism.

During the BRICS meeting, the five leaders strongly condemned the attacks and reiterated their commitment to international cooperation on fighting terrorism, according to an official statement.

As part of a four-point proposal made at the meeting seeking increased functions for BRICS nations, Xi called for coordination and mutual support to be strengthened "to jointly address various global challenges".

He said such cooperation should be in line with the principles of the United Nations Charter as well as other widely accepted basic norms for international relations.

Feng Zhongping, vice-president of the China Institutes of Contemporary International Relations, said the border policy within Europe has provided room for terrorist activities.

"To address this is beyond the capacity of France alone," Feng said.

Li Wei, an anti-terrorism expert at the same institution, said building an international alliance against terror is no longer an issue, adding, "The biggest problem is insufficient cooperation in a global context."

Teng Jianqun, a senior US studies research fellow at the China Institute of International Studies, said the Paris attacks took place ahead of global events including the G20 summit and the global climate change conference

In his speech on Sunday, Xi also addressed economic issues. He called for increased coordination on macroeconomic policies among various parties and for a stronger say and representation for developing countries and emerging-market nations on the global governance system.

As emerging-market nations have contributed to more than 50 percent of world economic growth, they are still an important engine for global economic expansion, Xi said.

Huang Wei, an economic governance researcher at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, said the BRICS nations "have huge room for improvement" when it comes to cooperation.

Contact the writers through zhangyunbi@chinadaily.com.cn

(China Daily USA 11/16/2015 page1)