Graphics: China's legal framework and measures for counterterrorism

China has drawn on useful experience from the international community and accelerated its efforts to build a domestic counterterrorism legal framework since the 1990s, according to a white paper titled "China's Legal Framework and Measures for Counterterrorism," which was released on Tuesday.

The country has amended and improved the criminal laws since 1997 to include crimes of terrorism and tighten sanctions against such crimes. After the September 11 attacks in the U.S. in 2001, China has made efforts to implement UN Security Council Resolution 1373.

In October 2014, the National People's Congress (NPC) Standing Committee held its first deliberations on the draft law on counterterrorism. After two rounds of deliberations in February and December 2015, the NPC Standing Committee adopted the Counterterrorism Law on December 27, 2015. In April 2018, the NPC Standing Committee amended the law.

Since 2014, China has continued to take tough action against violent terrorism and punish criminals who have plotted terrorist activities. The country carries out counterterrorism work in accordance with the law. It has been effectively safeguarding national security and social stability and markedly improving people's sense of security.

According to the results of the annual national survey on the sense of public security, the proportion of positive answers rose from 87.55 percent in 2012 to 98.62 percent in 2021, sustaining the high level and receiving widespread public acclaim.

Security and stability enable development. In Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, a key focal point for China's counterterrorism efforts, all 3.06 million individuals living in rural areas below the poverty line had emerged from poverty, and poverty had been eradicated from all 3,666 villages and 35 counties by the end of 2020.

The autonomous region is now a leading tourist destination, with tourism acting as a pillar industry that boosts employment and enriches local people's lives. Urban residents' per capita disposable income increased from 19,019 yuan in 2012 to 38,410 yuan in 2022, while that of rural residents rose from 6,876 yuan to 16,550 yuan.

The number of tourist trips received by the region reached 265.44 million in 2023, representing a year-on-year increase of 117 percent and setting a new record. Xinjiang's total income from tourism in 2023 was 296.7 billion yuan, a growth of 227 percent on the previous year.