Global Times: Xinjiang no longer a remote corner, but a core area, hub in BRI: Xi
BEIJING, July 20, 2022 /PRNewswire/ — Eight years after his visit to China’s Xinjiang region in 2014, Chinese President Xi Jinping made a second trip to the northwest region and stressed efforts to fully and faithfully implement the policies of the Communist Party of China for the governance of Xinjiang in the new era, highlighting social stability and lasting security as the overarching goal and the region’s significant role in building the Belt and Road Initiative.
Analysts said Xi’s visit to Xinjiang signals that after achieving fundamental changes from disturbance to stability, the Xinjiang region is entering a new phase of being built into the bridgehead of China’s westward opening-up.
While staying in the Xinjiang region from Tuesday to Friday, President Xi visited many places in Urumqi. He also went to Shihezi and Turpan and inspected villages and the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps and had communications with local residents.
During the visit, President Xi also called for developing Xinjiang into a region that is united, harmonious, prosperous, and culturally advanced, with healthy ecosystems and people living and working in contentment.
Xi’s visit to the Xinjiang region is a strong and significant indication that while maintaining prolonged stability and achieving economic development, Xinjiang region is stepping into a new phase of economic development and has been built as a core hub for the building of China’s Belt and Road Initiative and the bridgehead for westward opening-up, Wang Yuting, associate professor of the Institute of Chinese Borderland Studies at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, told the Global Times.
Xinjiang and the whole western region of China have realized stability, laying the foundation for China to further boost its western region and deepen cooperation with Central and West Asian countries, said Wang, noting that Xinjiang’s role as a core hub of the Silk Road Economic Belt has significant strategic value and meaning.
On Tuesday, Xi visited the Urumqi International Land Port. “The Belt and Road Initiative has yielded fruitful results since it was initiated. As the joint building of BRI continues to advance, Xinjiang is no longer a remote corner but a core area and a hub. What you have done is of historic significance,” Xi said.
Wang also pointed out that Xi’s visit in Xinjiang also showcased China’s enriched policy for the governance of Xinjiang in the new era, including maintaining stability in the region through ethnic unity, nurturing the cultures of Xinjiang, promoting prosperity among the local residents, and developing Xinjiang from a long-term perspective.
China’s products can be exported to the US and the West from coastal areas and also to other regions via the land hub of Xinjiang, which can not only meet the increasingly strong demand from neighboring countries but also help speed up the region’s opening-up to find new ways out, Wang said.
