URUMQI, Sept. 29 (Xinhua) — In the golden autumn of late September, the streets of Urumqi were adorned with bright banners and fresh flowers in celebration of the 70th founding anniversary of Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region.
Amid the festive atmosphere, Chinese leader Xi Jinping made a three-day trip to the regional capital last week. Xi, general secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, Chinese president and chairman of the Central Military Commission, led a central delegation to join the celebrations, marking the first time in the history of the Party and the country that such an arrangement has been made.
This marked Xi’s fourth visit to Xinjiang since he became the country’s top leader. During the trip, Xi met with representatives from all ethnic groups and all walks of life in Xinjiang, visited an exhibition, listened to work reports from the CPC Xinjiang regional committee and the regional government, attended an evening gala and joined a grand celebratory gathering.
Beyond the celebrations, Xi’s pivotal trip reflected the past, honored the people, and mapped out the future of this vital region.
HISTORIC ACHIEVEMENTS OVER 70 YEARS
On Oct. 1, 1955, China’s National Day, the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region was established, marking the start of a new era for the region. Today, the exhibition in Urumqi highlights the remarkable changes Xinjiang has experienced in seven decades.
On one side stood dwellings made of poplar and red willow, their mud-plastered walls unable to keep out the biting winter wind; on the other, sleek two-story houses of modern design. In front of these juxtaposed reconstructions, which depict the profound transformation of people’s lives after being relocated from a village in the heart of the desert in Xinjiang’s Hotan Prefecture, Xi paused in reflection.
The transformation seen in the lives of villagers reflects a wider story of growth and modernization across Xinjiang in 70 years.
In 2024, the region’s GDP exceeded 2 trillion yuan (about 281 billion U.S. dollars) for the first time, 204.3 times that of 1955.
All prefectures and over 90 percent of the counties in Xinjiang are now accessible by expressway, while the length of railways in the region nearly doubled the 2012 figure.
People’s lives have been transformed. By 2024, the per capita disposable income of urban and rural residents had increased by 133-fold and 162-fold, respectively, compared with 1978.
Once a region facing widespread poverty, Xinjiang had lifted over 3 million people out of poverty by the end of 2020, as part of the nationwide anti-poverty campaign launched in 2012.
Ecological progress has also been remarkable in Xinjiang, which covers roughly one-sixth of China’s territory.
The Taklimakan Desert, the world’s second-largest drifting desert, is now encircled by a sand-blocking green belt stretching 3,046 kilometers, the longest of its kind globally. Over the past three decades, the region’s total oasis area has expanded by 56.6 percent.
“The profound changes in Xinjiang over the past 70 years are a vivid reflection of the historic process of national rejuvenation,” said Xi.
JOINT EFFORTS OF ALL ETHNIC GROUPS
Xinjiang has long been home to a diverse mix of ethnic groups, with its people exhibiting a vibrant spirit and rich traditions.
During his stay in Xinjiang, Xi met with representatives from all ethnic groups and all walks of life, and urged the region to forge a strong sense of community for the Chinese nation.
Among them was Burumahan Maoleduo, an 83-year-old border guardian of the Kirgiz ethnic group. For decades, she trekked the rugged highlands at altitudes above 4,000 meters to patrol the frontier. Her lifelong devotion earned her the national title of “People’s Role Model.”
Another story came from Memetjan Wumer, a 72-year-old Uygur and former Party secretary of Bulikai Village in Yining County. He led villagers in arduous efforts over 30 years, turning the impoverished hamlet into a model village for ethnic unity and affluence.
“The progress in our hometown is the result of the Party and the country’s support, and of the joint efforts of all ethnic groups,” he said, adding that locals now enjoy a good life and Xinjiang has undergone remarkable changes.
The achievements in Xinjiang stem from the joint efforts of countless people, and also from the extensive paired assistance efforts across the country.
Paired assistance is a strategic policy measure that requires central Party and government departments, state-owned enterprises, and designated provinces and municipalities to provide assistance to the region.
Assistance efforts include dispatching officials and professionals, advancing sci-tech and education development, and providing medical and health services.
Since 2012, the central government has allocated over 200 billion yuan in paired assistance funds for Xinjiang and introduced more than 15,000 enterprises into the region.
“Our paired assistance over the years has yielded fruitful results and great changes, and the dispatched officials have played an indispensable role in Xinjiang’s progress,” said Xi.
MAPPING OUT WAY AHEAD
Continuously advancing high-quality development lays the foundation for Xinjiang’s lasting stability and prosperity. Xi urged the region to firmly stick to the strategic roles in national development delineated by the CPC Central Committee.
Among them is the task of building a golden channel across the Eurasian continent and a gateway for opening up to the west.
With a borderline over 5,700 kilometers long, Xinjiang has 19 ports, of which 16 are land ports. In 2024, Xinjiang handled 16,400 China-Europe (Central Asia) freight train trips, maintaining over 10,000 cross-border trips annually for five consecutive years.
Highlighting that Xinjiang has become a key hub linking Europe and Asia, Xi urged the region to expand on its current achievements.
Xinjiang is accelerating efforts to build itself into a strategic base of the nation’s energy resources.
In 2024, the region’s oil and gas production equivalent reached 66.64 million tonnes, and the installed capacity of electricity hit 192.7 million kW, of which capacity from new energy sources surpassed 100 million kW.
The region is also rapidly emerging as a national base for high-quality agricultural and livestock products.
Its grain yield per unit area reached 7872.75 kg per hectare last year, the highest in the country. And the cotton output of about 5.69 million tonnes accounted for 92.3 percent of the national total in 2024, with a mechanization rate reaching 97 percent.
Xinjiang will also form a strategic pivot for fostering a new development paradigm and forge a strategic barrier for safeguarding national geopolitical security.
“We must deepen the integration of technological innovation and industrial innovation, select the right direction and breakthrough points, and develop new quality productive forces based on local conditions,” Xi said.
Xi underlined that the country has already devoted significant policies, investment, projects, and nationwide assistance to Xinjiang’s development and that such efforts will continue in the years ahead. ■
