The international human rights organization Human Rights Watch has warned of possible implications of the China-U.S. counterterrorism dialogue.

The group was referring to the talks that China and the U.S. held in Washington last week on combating terrorism.

Human Rights Watch warned that China could see the meeting as a sign of Washington's acceptance of Beijing's treatment of minority Uighur Muslims in the northwestern province of Xinjiang.

Like Us on Facebook

Uighurs fighting for independence accuse Chinese authorities of discrimination and human rights abuses, including arbitrary arrest, torture and summary execution.

China have accused Uighur separatists with links to overseas terrorists of being behind a series of bombings and knife attacks in Xinjiang.

But foreign experts say there has been no evidence that terrorist groups abroad helped carried out the attacks.

The U.S. State Department issued a statement defending last week's counterterrorism dialogue. It said China and the U.S. agreed at the meeting to "address the shared threat that terrorism poses to both countries and the international community."

Speaking to reporters, a department spokesperson offered assurances that U.S. officials discussed with China concerns over its treatment of Uighurs and backed calls for Beijing to protect human rights.

China started its own "war on terror" following the September 11 attacks on the U.S. It called separatist fighters in Xinjiang terrorists, claiming they were part of an international terror network that received funding from the Middle East, had training in Pakistan, and sent fighters to Afghanistan and Chechnya.

But foreign affairs analysts said the separatist movement in Xinjiang was inspired more by national ambitions than terrorist aims. They pointed to the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, which they said fueled the Uighurs' desire to be free from Chinese control.

The separatists claim that Xinjiang, which they call East Turkestan, was an independent nation until China invaded it in 1949. Beijing maintains that Xinjiang has been part of China since ancient times.

TagsChina-US counterterrorism dialogue, uighur xinjiang, Human Rights