China's Xi says Xinjiang is front line on terrorism, hails police

China's President Xi Jinping waits for his Palestinian counterpart Mahmoud Abbas before a welcoming ceremony outside the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, May 6, 2013. REUTERS/Petar Kujundzic

BEIJING (Reuters) - Police are the "fists and daggers" in the fight against terrorism, China's President Xi Jinping said on a trip to the western Xinjiang region where authorities say members of a Muslim minority are waging a violent separatist campaign.

Xi's tour, reported in state media late on Monday, was his first to the region since a ruling Communist Party conclave in November in which he ushered in a national security commission to combat foreign and domestic threats.