CHINESE President Xi Jinping gave an honorary award to representatives of a specialist police unit operating in Xinjiang province yesterday, commending them for their fight against terrorism in the autonomous region.

The People’s Armed Police Force unit received the title “Anti-Terrorist Sharp Knife Squadron” for its outstanding performance in the largely Uighur-populated province.

Delegates of the special operations group were presented with an honorary flag at a ceremony in the capital Beijing presided over by Central Military Commission (CMC) vice-chairman Zhang Youxia.

Mr Xi’s order said that China’s armed forces should learn from the squadron and “develop a strong ability to defeat enemies, foster bravery, promote the revolutionary spirit and fearlessly charge ahead despite the difficulties.”

The CMC insisted that all members of the armed forces should “spare no effort in building the people's army into a world-class military…”

The Chinese autonomous region of Xinjiang has experienced serious ethnic conflict, particularly between 1990 and 2016, when hundreds of civilians and security officials were killed in terror attacks.

Many of the attacks were carried out by the East Turkestan Islamic Movement (Etim), a jihadist terror group committed to creating an independent state in Xinjiang.

The group, which sent jihadist fighters known as the Turkestan Brigade to participate in the Syrian civil war as part of efforts to establish an Islamist caliphate, is known to have links to the World Uighur Congress.

The German-based group, which receives the US government funding, is one of the main sources for the allegations that the Uighur people are suffering genocide at the hands of the Chinese government.

The region’s anti-terror programme, which includes deradicalisation and the establishment of education camps providing vocational training, has been portrayed by the US and Western countries as evidence of “concentration camps” housing as many as three million Uighur people.

This has been dismissed as lacking credibility and scores of Muslim-majority countries have continued to back China’s efforts, which have led to a decline in terrorism in recent years.

Beijing’s policy contrasts sharply with the US prison at Guantanamo Bay, where terror suspects are held for years without charge or trial and have been subjected to horrific torture techniques, including waterboarding.

There have been numerous promises to close the camp, which opened in 2002, but at least 40 inmates are known to still be held there, despite allegations that their detention violates international law.