The Islamic State (IS) claims to have killed Chinese prisoner Fan Jinghui, which seemingly has triggered China's will to punish the IS./ Source from China Central Television (CCTV)

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By Hong Soon-do, Beijing correspondent, AsiaToday - China is likely to actively join Western society's fight against the Islamic State (IS) after confirming on Thursday the death of a Chinese man at the hands of the IS. In fact, there is a fair chance that China will do so, since Islamic militants are active in China and the country desperately needs to punish them.

According to the statement released by Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hong Lei on the Foreign Ministry website on Thursday, Fan Jinghui is the third Asian who has been kidnapped and killed by the Islamic State group, following Japanese hostages Goto Kenji and Haruna Yukawa.

At the moment, the Chinese government has not made any official announcements to fight against IS. However, it seems the country will engage in punishing the IS group in some way considering what ministry spokesperson Hong stated, "The terrorism group ignored basic human conscience and morals. The Chinese government strongly condemn this inhuman atrocity, and we must bring these criminals to justice." China hasn't been an active participant in the fight against IS, but, in the wake of the killing, is likely to cooperate with the Western society that is moving fast to fight against the IS. Such assertion is not an exaggeration considering what Chinese President Xi Jining said in Manila while attending an Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation meeting, "Terrorists are the common enemy of humankind. China will resolutely crack down on any crimes that challenge the foundation of human civilization."

The problem is the current situation of fighting against the Islamic State is led by the United States. It's quite a burden for China considering the rivalry of the two countries over supremacy of international community. However, it's a different story considering the fact that China is one of the active participants of UN peacekeeping operations. Han Xian-dong, professor at China University of Political Science and Law, said, "China is regarded as a country that actively participates in realizing an international society of justice. Hesitating to join the anti-IS war because of rivalry with the United States is not the attitude of a superpower." It seems a matter of time that China joins the international community to fight against IS in one form or another.