Yu Zhengsheng, China's top political advisor, said on Thursday that long-term stability and security are the top priorities in the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region. He stressed that counterterrorism will be the focus of the local government's work.
Editor's note: This is the first in a series of special reports to mark the 60th anniversary of the founding of the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region. Over the coming weeks, China Daily will brings its readers in-depth stories about the lives of the people who live in China's "wild west", outlining their aspirations and concerns, and the changes in the region over the past six decades.
The Information Office of the State Council, or China's Cabinet, on Thursday issued a white paper titled "Historical Witness to Ethnic Equality, Unity and Development in Xinjiang."
Most terrorist groups in Xinjiang autonomous region have been knocked out at the planning stage, according to a white paper published Thursday.
The white paper states the development in Xinjiang marks the successful implementation of China's system of ethnic regional autonomy in the region.
The Chinese government has allocated 130 million yuan ($20.9 million) in funding to boost e-commerce development in Northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region.
Eight years ago, Ayinurgul Anigul was a teenager growing up in Bulayiq in the Turpan Basin, without any knowledge of tourism. She didn't know what to make of the strangers and the "good-looking elder brothers and sisters holding little flags".
China has pledged to develop the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region as the Silk Road's main tour dispatch hub by 2020 through a national tourism financial aid package.
Since adopting a pilot reform to replace business tax with value-added tax (VAT) two years ago, Xinjiang has witnessed a tax reduction of about 4 billion yuan ($635 million), regional taxation authorities said Monday.
With a total population of close to 20 million as of 2014, the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region is among the country's provincial areas faced with the mounting challenges of an aging population.
Weli Amet along with 102 others from Tumxuk city were the first group of employees assisted by Guangdong provincial government in a move to support development of several areas of southern Xinjiang.
China's cabinet issued a guideline on Thursday to bolster the textile and garment industry in the western Xinjiang region in the hope of increasing local employment and exports.
