With a long-held ethos of non-interference in other countries ' affairs , risk-averse China is perhaps an unlikely ally in President Barack Obama 's pledge to `` degrade '' and `` destroy '' ISIS in Iraq and Syria . But with Beijing 's growing unease about terrorist threats by Islamist extremists at home , analysts say China -- a U.N. Security Council permanent member - is unlikely to oppose plans to build a `` broad coalition '' to go after ISIS . `` I think China in principle will quietly support this idea to curb ISIS , '' says Chen Dingding , an assistant professor of government at the University of Macau . `` ISIS has openly listed China as a major threat to them and if they gain more influence , it 's likely they will target Xinjiang and even other parts of China , '' he added . Earlier this month , Iraqi news reports showed pictures of what they said was a captured Chinese national fighting for ISIS . China 's foreign ministry said it could not confirm the reports . Many domestic observers assumed the man was Uyghur , a mainly Muslim minority group that lives in Xinjiang , an ethnically divided region in China 's north west . It remains unclear whether the captured man was actually Uyghur , but Xie Tao , a professor of political science at Beijing Foreign Studies University , says that there is `` deep concern '' among security analysts and commentators . `` If these groups have cells in Xinjiang , if it can be confirmed that ISIS members were recruited from China , if we are already becoming a ground for recruitment for these people then China has a stake in keeping ISIS away from its borders , '' said Xie . While China , along with Russia , has blocked U.N. Security Council action on Syria during the three-year civil war , both Chen and Xie said that China would likely support a generic resolution that condemns terrorist atrocities and authorizes an international force to target ISIS . `` This is not going to be a resolution that China will veto . This is not about sovereignty or ( Syrian President ) Assad , '' said Xie . In response to a reporter 's question on whether China would join U.S. efforts to combat terrorism , Hua Chunying , China 's foreign ministry spokesperson , said that China hoped that `` with joint efforts of the international community , the countries involved will soon restore stability and order , achieve reconciliation , peace and development . '' `` Abiding by the principles of mutual respect and equal cooperation , China is willing to enhance anti-terrorism communication and cooperation with the international community so as to safeguard international security and stability , '' she added . Criticism . The United States has been critical of China 's reluctance to get involved in international security issues given its expanding global interests . In August , Obama called China a `` free rider '' for its reluctance to contribute to international security while importing oil and other resources from places like Iraq . China has sent a special envoy to the Middle East to help facilitate dialogue between Israel and Palestine but changes to its traditional non-interventionist foreign policy have been limited in scale . Last week , National Security Adviser Susan Rice made her first visit to China , reportedly conveying hopes that China might join an international coalition to collectively combat terrorism . But its support is likely to symbolic rather than substantive , says Xie with scant chance of Chinese combat troops on the ground . `` We 're not really ready to take that leap . ''
China has a long - held policy of non - interference in other world affairs . But Beijing is likely to quietly support the U.S. fight against ISIS , analysts said . China 's foreign ministry says willing to enhance communication and cooperation . Support is likely to be symbolic rather than substantive .