Beijing Review – August 01, 2019

18 BEIJING REVIEW AUGUST 1, 2019 http://www.bjreview.com

HAPPIER PRESENT,

BETTER FUTURE

5 4

Copyedited by Rebeca Toledo

&RPPHQWVWR]DQMLIDQJ#EMUHYLHZFRP

E

mployment and educational opportuni-

ties are seen as two of the main ways of

addressing the core problem of poverty in

northwest China’s Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous

Region, especially in the region’s southern area

where economic growth lags far behind the

national average.

In recent years, Xinjiang has achieved

remarkable progress in poverty reduction, to

which an increase in jobs contributed greatly.

,QWKHĶUVWKDOIRIPRUHWKDQ

new urban jobs were created in the region,

while the total number of rural residents who

found jobs in other Chinese cities was 1.7

million.

The Central Government has been im-

plementing the pairing assistance program

in Xinjiang since 1997, channeling financial

support to Xinjiang from economically ad-

vanced regions of the country and sending

officials and professionals to work there.

Thanks to supporting policies, Xinjiang has

established a number of industrial parks in

poverty-stricken areas, which provide em-

ployment and drive local economic growth.

In addition, Xinjiang realized 15-year

compulsory education in the entire region

in 2018. This means that all students from

kindergarten to high school, as well as those

attending secondary vocational schools, re-

ceive free education. Q

XIN

HU

A

COVER STORY