[Express] Li Shaoxian, vice-president of a think tank with ties to the Chinese Ministry of State Security, said "many hundreds or thousands" of Uighurs from Xinjiang province were involved with Daesh in Syria. He said, "Whether there are Chinese citizens involved in ISIS, the answer is certainly yes. I don't have the specific number but I think there are possibly many hundreds, or thousands, of them."As a researcher I have been following the situation closely. I believe there are quite many Chinese citizens fighting in Syria, not just with the ISIS but also other forces in Syria, where there are all kinds of groups who have people fighting who are from China."
Li, who heads the China Institute of Contemporary International Relations, warned returning jihadis could pose a major threat to China. He said, "I believe this will be a major source or threat because if these people come back to the country of origin they could constitute a considerable threat to the security of the country of origin."
Senior Chinese officials warned last year that Uighurs were joining Daesh. Zhang Chunxian, Communist Party secretary of Xinjiang province, said in March, "The organization has a huge international influence and Xinjiang can't keep aloof from it and we have already been affected. We have also found that some who fought returned to Xinjiang to participate in terrorist plots."