Xi stresses building socialist modern Xinjiang

President Xi Jinping, who led a central delegation to Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region for activities marking the autonomous region’s 70th founding anniversary, listened to work reports from the Communist Party of China (CPC) Xinjiang regional committee and the regional government on Wednesday. Xi, also general secretary of the CPC Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, emphasized the full, faithful and comprehensive implementation of the Party’s guidelines for governing Xinjiang in the new era. Focusing on the overarching goal of ensuring social stability and enduring prosperity, Xinjiang should uphold the principle of pursuing progress while ensuring stability in its work and attach the same importance to development and security. The region should foster a strong sense of community for the Chinese nation and promote the building of the community. With unity and sustained effort, Xinjiang should strive to fulfill the “Five Strategic Positions” set forth by the Party central committee, so as to build a socialist modern Xinjiang that is characterized by unity, harmony, prosperity, affluence, cultural progress and a sound eco-environment, where people live and work in peace and contentment.

Xi pointed out that over the past 70 years since the founding of Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, under the strong leadership of the CPC Central Committee and with firm support from people across the entire country, the regional Party committee and government have united and led the region’s officials and people of all ethnic groups in resolutely upholding national unity, ethnic solidarity, and social stability. They have continuously advanced economic and social progress, bringing profound changes to Xinjiang. The region has, in step with the rest of the country, fulfilled the goal of building a moderately prosperous society in all respects, and has now embarked on the new journey toward building a modern socialist country in all respects. On behalf of the CPC Central Committee, Xi extended warm congratulations and sincere greetings to officials and the people of all ethnic groups in Xinjiang.

Xi stressed that the region should pursue a high-quality development path in line with its own conditions, and on the basis of its own resource endowment and industrial foundation. Xi called on the region to continuously develop industries with its own distinctive local strengths, and foster competitive industrial clusters. The region should strengthen the deep integration of technological and industrial innovation, and efforts should focus on cultivating new quality productive forces according to local conditions, Xi said. It is important for the region to strengthen the integration of culture and tourism in developing its cultural tourism. Biological protection and restoration must be enhanced for the region to drive a green transition in all areas of economic and social development. The construction of core areas along the Silk Road Economic Belt should be accelerated to expand their role in boosting domestic and international economic flows. Xi urged the region to prioritize the work to secure and improve the wellbeing of local people, and make further efforts to consolidate and expand what has been achieved in poverty alleviation, vigorously advance social programs, and enable people of all ethnic groups to participate in development and share the yields of development.

Xi pointed out that Xinjiang should spare no effort to maintain overall social stability. Efforts should be focused on strengthening community-level work, and necessary and basic foundations to build people’s line of defense against terrorism and for the maintenance of stability. Xi urged the region to do a good job in forging a strong sense of community for the Chinese nation and advancing the building of the community. Xi also urged Xinjiang to do a good job in making sure that religions in China must be Chinese in orientation. Xi called on Xinjiang to strengthen efforts to nourish the region and enlighten local people through the development of culture. Xi urged the regional government to guide officials and people of all ethnic groups to develop a correct understanding of the country, history, nation, culture, and religion.

Xi stressed that strengthening the Party’s leadership and Party building is a fundamental guarantee for advancing Xinjiang’s modernization. It is imperative for the region to arm its officials and people with the Party’s new theories, and for them to forge cohesion and souls with the Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era. The work to ensure stability and promote development should be where officials are trained, and all the officials should forge a strong will to overcome difficulties and hardships, and improve their capabilities of uniting and serving the people and handling complicated situations. It is essential to strengthen the organizations at the primary level, and improve the primary-level Party organizations’ political and organizational functions. It is imperative to consolidate and further implement the achievements of the education campaign concerning the central Party leadership’s eight-point decision on improving conduct, and refine the long-term mechanism for improving conduct, enforcing discipline, and combating corruption, so as to create a political atmosphere of integrity.

Xi pointed out the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps (XPCC) serves as a major strategic force for achieving the CPC Central Committee’s overall goal of the work related to Xinjiang. He called on the XPCC to deepen reform and explore a path of high-quality development that is suited to its conditions and unique characteristics.

Chen Xiaojiang, secretary of the CPC Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Regional Committee, reported on the work of the region’s Party committee and government. Those who attended the meeting include Erkin Tuniyaz, chairman of the regional government, Zumrat Obul, chairperson of the Standing Committee of the People’s Congress of Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, Nurlan Abelmanjen, chairman of the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Regional Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference, and He Zhongyou, political commissar of the XPCC.

Also present at the meeting were Wang Huning, Cai Qi, Li Ganjie, He Lifeng, Wang Xiaohong, Shohrat Zakir, Shen Yiqin, Wang Dongfeng, and Liu Zhenli. Those present also included leading officials from relevant central Party and state departments, all members of the central delegation, and leading officials from Xinjiang’s Party, government departments, and military units.