Xinjiang cotton at crossroads of new Silk Road

1 million textile jobs to be created by 2023 in the autonomous region

The Youngor cotton spinning factory is one of the biggest employers in Aksu, an agricultural town on the edge of the Taklamakan desert in the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region.

Youngor, one of China's largest shirtmakers, opened the plant in 2011 to be closer to the main cotton-growing region in the Xinjiang region. Soon it will be joined by others: China wants to create 1 million textile jobs in Xinjiang by 2023.