China: President Xi visits Xinjiang province for the first time since 2014

Chinese President Xi Jinping has traveled to Xinjiang, official Chinese media reported, in his first visit to the province since 2014.

Western investigations accuse Beijing of forcibly transporting more than a million Uighur Muslims and members of other ethnic minorities to “re-education camps”, where they are subjected to “forced labour” or “sterilisations”.

China presents the camps as “vocational training centers” aimed at countering religious extremism and vocational training of Xinjiang residents to ensure social stability.

Beijing denies that it is subjecting Uyghurs to forced sterilizations and insists that it is simply implementing the national birth control policy, which until now has not been faithfully implemented in Xinjiang.

According to the Xinhua news agency, Xi hailed the province’s socio-economic progress during his unannounced visit there, which started on Tuesday from the provincial capital of Urmukchi.

This is the first time the Chinese president has visited Xinjiang since 2014, when a terrorist attack took place on the last day of his visit, triggering a massive counter-terrorism campaign.

2014 was a particularly bloody year, with another attack on civilians in Urumqi and a third at Kunming railway station in southwestern China, killing many dozens.

Authorities blamed separatists and Islamist Uyghurs.

From Shihezi, in the northern part of the province, Xi on Wednesday praised the work of the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corporation (Bingtuan), which the US has imposed sanctions on for alleged human rights abuses.

The powerful state economic and paramilitary group, which is mainly responsible for agriculture and border security, has made “great strides” in reform and development, the Chinese president said.

Chinese state media released photos of Xi talking to students and local officials, attending an event and receiving applause from residents.

SOURCE: APE-ME