BEIJING (Reuters), – China has expressed willingness to strengthen “law enforcement, security and cooperation” with Kazakhstan. It also wants to counter interference by “external force”, China’s foreign ministry said Monday. The statement came after violence in Central Asian countries.

According to Chinese foreign ministry, Wang Yi is also a state representative.

The ministry quotes Wang as saying to Tileuberdi, “Recent turmoils in Kazakhstan show that Central Asia still faces severe challenges and it once more proves that certain external forces don’t want peace and calm in our region.”

Several cities in Kazakhstan saw government buildings briefly taken hostage or set on fire last week by peaceful protestors who were opposed to fuel price rises. To put an end to a nationwide uprising, troops were directed to fire to kill.

Authorities blame the violence on “extremists”, which include foreign-trained Islamist militants.

The authorities also requested that a Russian-led military group send troops to the country. This was a request by United States.

China fears instability within its neighbour may threaten its energy imports and Belt-and-Road project. It also worries about security in its western Xinjiang, which has a 1,770-km (1.110-mile-long) border with Kazakhstan.

Wang said that China is willing to cooperate against any interference or infiltration from external forces.

China’s President Xi Jinping told Kazakhstan President Kassym Jomart Tokayev on Friday that China is against any foreign force that would destabilize Kazakhstan. He also said that China intends to engineer a “colour revolution”, according to Chinese state TV.

China and Russia think that “colour revolutions”, which are being triggered by the United States or other Western countries, aim to bring about regime change.

Li Mingjiang is an associate professor at S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies, Singapore. “China doesn’t want to see an increase in U.S. power in Kazakhstan and Central Asia due to this unrest,” he said.

He said, “If there is a color revolution in another country that leads to political democracy it might encourage liberal-leaning intellectuals in China to do something similar.”

China, which has been a member of the United Nations Peacekeeping umbrella since 1960, does not normally send troops to countries other than those it recognizes as its country’s policy of non-interference.

Six police officers were sent to Solomon Islands by China last month in order to assist with training and fighting riots caused by Taiwan’s switch to Beijing as its diplomatic partner.