China's top legislature ratified an agreement with Pakistan to fight terrorism, separatism and extremism on Sunday.
The Sino-Pakistan Cooperative Agreement on Combating the "Three Evil Forces", which was submitted to the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress (NPC) on August 22 for deliberation, defines terrorism, separatism and extremism, and outlines the scope of cooperation between the countries.
The pact, which was signed in Islamabad, Pakistan, in April 2005, is the second international pact that China has signed after the agreement entered into with Kirghizia, Kazakhstan, Tadzhikistan and Uzbekistan to safeguard regional peace and stability.
Briefing NPC lawmakers on August 22, Wu Dawei, vice-minister of foreign affairs, said the pact was necessary because the three evil forces have threatened the lives of Pakistanis and Chinese working and living in Pakistan.
"The agreement will help safeguard China's national interests and promote cooperation between the two countries in those areas," he said.
China and Kazakhstan held an anti-terrorism exercise from August 24 to 26 in Kazakhstan's eastern Almaty region and the western Chinese city of Yining in Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region.
The drill, codenamed "Tianshan - I (2006)", was conducted by law enforcement bodies and the special forces of the two countries.
The exercise is a concrete illustration of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) agreement, established in June 2001 to fight terrorism, separatism and extremism.
(Xinhua News Agency August 28, 2006)