China has not seen a major Islamist terrorist attack so far (correct me if I'm wrong, but I can't recall any).
I guess it depends on how you define major, and also the extent to which anti-Han and anti-government violence by Uighurs is motivated by "Islamism" (it's obviously in the PRC's interest to say it is). But these seem to be significant incidents, anyway:
(1) "On the morning of 22 May 2014, two
sport utility vehicles (SUVs) carrying five assailants were driven into a busy street market in
Ürümqi, the capital of China's
Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region. Up to a dozen explosives were thrown at shoppers from the windows of the SUVs. The SUVs crashed into shoppers then collided with each other and exploded. 43 people were killed, including 4 of the assailants, and more than 90 wounded,
[1] making this the deadliest attack of the
Xinjiang conflict.
[2][3][4][5]" https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/May_2014_Ürümqi_attack
(2) "At least 50 reported to have died in attack on coalmine in Xinjiang in September [2015]"
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2...september-attack-as-china-celebrates-xinjiang
"Radio Free Asia said the number of people killed in the 18 September attack at the Sogan colliery in Aksu had reached 50, with most casualties members of the Han Chinese majority. Police blamed knife-wielding separatists.
"When police officers arrived on the scene, attackers “rammed their vehicles using trucks loaded down with coal”, the report said, citing its own sources.
"“Nearly all the workers who were not on shift at the time were killed or injured,” police officer Ekber Hashim told the station. “Some workers were sleeping while others were preparing to work when the attackers raided the building after killing the security guards.”
"Reuters was unable to reach officials for comment. Such incidents are frequently reported in overseas media but not confirmed by the Chinese government until days later, if ever.
"In June, Radio Free Asia said at least 18 people died when ethnic Uighurs attacked police with knives and bombs at a traffic checkpoint in the old Silk Road city of Kashgar.
"The government has never confirmed that incident, though diplomats have told Reuters they believe a serious attack did take place..."
(3)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2011_Kashgar_attacks
"The
2011 Kashgar attacks were a series of knife and bomb attacks in
Kashgar,
Xinjiang, China on July 30 and 31, 2011. On July 30, two
Uyghur men hijacked a truck, killed its driver, and drove into a crowd of pedestrians. They got out of the truck and stabbed six people to death and injured 27 others. One of the attackers was killed by the crowd; the other was brought into custody. On July 31, a chain of two explosions started a fire at a downtown restaurant. A group of armed Uyghur men killed two people inside of the restaurant and four people outside, injuring 15 other people. Police shot five suspects dead, detained four, and killed two others who initially escaped arrest.
"The government says the attackers confessed to
Jihadist motives and membership in the terrorist group
East Turkestan Islamic Movement (ETIM), while an overseas pro-Uyghur independence group claims the attackers were frustrated by a lack of options for nonviolent anti-government protest. Businesses temporarily closed down and
riot police patrolled the city until August 4. ETIM acknowledged responsibility for the attack on September 8, as well as for the
attack in Hotan earlier that same July. Six men were given prison or death sentences for their involvement in both attacks later in September."
(4) "The
2011 Hotan attack was a
bomb-and-knife attack that occurred in
Hotan,
Xinjiang, China on July 18, 2011. According to witnesses, the assailants were a group of 18 young
Uyghur men who opposed the local government's campaign against the
burqa, which had grown popular among older Hotan women in 2009 but were also used in a series of violent crimes. The men occupied a police station on Nuerbage Street at noon, killing two security guards with knives and bombs and taking eight hostages. The attackers then yelled religious slogans, including ones associated with
Jihadism, as they replaced the
Chinese flag on top of a police station with another flag, the identity of which is disputed.
"After a firefight with police around 1:30 p.m., 14 of the attackers were killed, and four were captured. Six of the hostages were rescued alive, while two were killed in the attack. Local and national governments said the attack was organized terrorism motivated by
religious extremism, and found that two of the attackers have links to the militant
East Turkestan Islamic Movement (ETIM). A team from China's counter-terrorism office was sent to Hotan to investigate the attack. ETIM acknowledged responsibility for the attack on September 8, as well as for the
attacks in Kashgar later that same July. Six men were handed prison or death sentences for their involvement in both attacks later in September.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2011_Hotan_attack
(5)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2008_Kashgar_attack " occurred on the morning of 4 August 2008 in the city of
Kashgar in the Western Chinese province of
Xinjiang. According to Chinese government sources, it was a terrorist attack perpetrated by two men with suspected ties to the
Uyghur separatist movement. The men reportedly drove a truck into a group of approximately 70 jogging police officers, and proceeded to attack them with grenades and machetes, resulting in the death of sixteen officers. Foreign tourists who witnessed the scene provided a divergent account of events, saying that the attackers appeared to be machete-wielding paramilitary officers.
[1]"