'Cherish ethnic unity,' president tells Xinjiang

Xi vows to safeguard harmony and improve people's livelihoods in region

President Xi Jinping vowed on Friday to firmly safeguard the harmony and stability of the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region and improve the people's livelihoods in the northwestern region.

"We should love ethnic unity as loving our eyes, cherish ethnic unity like cherishing our lives, and hold together tightly like pomegranate seeds," Xi told lawmakers from Xinjiang while attending a panel discussion during the annual session of the National People's Congress, the top legislature.