NEW DELHI: Outlawed Jamaat-ud-Dawa chief Hafiz Saeed has rejected Beijing ’s call to prevent the practice of Islam in China . At a recently held ‘Second National Conference on Religion ’ in the Chinese capital, President Xi Jinping cautioned citizens to be vigilant against Islamic tendencies, such as Halal products. Addressing a congregation in Lahore, Saeed announced his plans to meet the Chinese ambassador in Islamabad to lodge his protest.His past congregations have targeted mainly India, USA, Israel and other Western countries. Saeed’s tirade, his first against China, is unusual given Sino-Pakistan all-weather friendship. “By uttering such statements, China is hurting its time-tested relations with the people of Pakistan,” said Saeed.Beijing had reportedly asked those living in Xinjiang province to shun Islam and to stick to China’s state policy of “Marxist Atheism”. Saeed said the statement by Chinese leadership was a “challenge to the Islamic way of life” and called upon the Sharif government to “show some courage and direct China to stay away from hurting Islamic sentiments”.At the conference, senior Communist Party officials strongly backed Jinping’s statement. They made it clear that Halal products will remain banned in China as these “promote religious segregation”.