URUMQI, July 16 (Xinhua) -- Pairing assistance, a national strategy in China to channel financial and personnel support to less developed regions, has significantly boosted progress and social stability in Xinjiang, and will continue to help the region achieve prosperity.
On Tuesday, the seventh national meeting on pairing-assistance to Xinjiang ended in Hotan, in southern Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, pledging comprehensive, targeted and long-term support to the border region.
China started to carry out the paring assistance program in Xinjiang in 1997 when it sent cadres from developed regions to work and hold tenures there.
The latest round of pairing assistance, which started in 2010, has involved ministries, 19 provinces and municipalities, which are economically advanced, to help all of Xinjiang's 14 prefectures and cities.
Thanks to mobilizing the might of the whole nation, Xinjiang has hit a fast track towards prosperity.
Sustained financial and personnel support has significantly contributed to economic development, poverty reduction, ethnic solidarity, and social progress in the autonomous region. The program has created jobs, built homes, roads and other infrastructure, and provided locals with better access to education and medical services.
Showing the advantages of the Chinese socialist system, the pairing assistance policy will gain new momentum. It is set to cement social stability in Xinjiang and provide strong backing in its efforts to build an all-around moderately prosperous society, along with the rest of the country.
Statistics show that in the past 10 years, nearly 120 billion yuan (17.5 billion U.S. dollars) has been poured into Xinjiang, and over 87,500 cadres, teachers, doctors, nurses and technicians have been dispatched to work in Xinjiang. Cadres work over a minimum three-year tenure, while medical staff, teachers and technicians generally rotate every 18 months or fewer.
Despite Xinjiang's remarkable progress, the region still faces challenges in eradicating extreme poverty and combatting terrorism.
As China is determined to win its fight against poverty next year, solid and staunch support from other provinces will help Xinjiang secure a victory and realize moderate prosperity as well as lasting stability.
