China on Tuesday welcomed the death of terrorist leader Osama bin Laden as a "positive development" in the global fight against terrorism, dpa reported.
"China has taken note of the announcement and we believe the death of Osama bin Laden is a milestone and a positive development for international anti-terrorism efforts," Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Jiang Yu said.
"Terrorism is the common enemy of the international community. China has also been a victim of terrorism," Jiang said in a statement posted on the ministry's website, www.mfa.gov.cn.
"China believes that the international community should step up cooperation in working together to fight terrorism," she said, adding that the international community should also target the "root causes" of terrorism.
Echoing the government's comments, the official China Daily newspaper on Tuesday said bin Laden's death was a "shot in the arm" for global efforts against terrorism.
"The demise of the world's number one terrorist could be a heavy blow to international terrorists and extremists, who have long taken bin Laden to be their inspiration," the newspaper said in a commentary.
But it warned that "military action alone will not remove the soil in which terrorism grows" and said that terrorism and extremism were "rooted in the injustice and inequity of the world's economic and political order".
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