Reform and development benefit Xinjiang people: white paper

A white paper issued by Chinese authority on ethnic equality, unity and development in Xinjiang stressed that people of various ethnic groups in the autonomous region have all benefitted from the fruits of the reform and development.

The white paper, titled "Historical Witness to Ethnic Equality, Unity and Development in Xinjiang" and issued by the State Council Information Office on Thursday, said that since the founding of the autonomous region, and especially since the launch of the reform and opening-up drive, Xinjiang has enjoyed overall economic and social development.

Since 2010, Xinjiang has stepped up efforts and input in improving the people's living standards, undertaking over 500 key projects in this regard. Over the past six consecutive "people's livelihood years," the expenditure on improving the people's livelihood accounted for over 70 percent of the region's yearly total public spending.

The white paper said that in 2010, Xinjiang established a registration system for people with difficulties in finding work and for families of which no member was gainfully employed. By 2014, under this system Xinjiang had helped 29,000 members of these "zero-employment" families find jobs, cutting the number of zero-employment families by 26,000.

In 2014, the per-capita disposable income of urban residents averaged RMB 21,881, an increase of 51.2 fold over that of 1980, representing an average annual growth of 12.3 percent.

The white paper further said that the education, public health, social security and poverty relief have also been promoted in Xinjiang. Endi