The U.S. Embassy in Beijing on Thursday morning warned citizens of a Christmastime terror threat against Westerners in one of the city's most popular expat districts.
"The U.S. Embassy has received information of possible threats against Westerners in the Sanlitun area of Beijing, on or around Christmas Day," the embassy said in an email to American citizens living in Beijing.
Beijing authorities have issued a "yellow security alert" -  the lowest on a three-tier system for security threats - to last through Christmas weekend, according to a statement by the city government's press office.
China is struggling with its own domestic terrorism problem in the northwestern region Xinjiang, where violent clashes between ethnic Uighurs - a predominantly Muslim minority group - and majority Han Chinese have become more common in recent years.