Xing Guangcheng: New Development Concepts Lead Xinjiang's High-Quality Development
High-quality development is the primary task of comprehensively building a modern socialist country, and the comprehensive realization of a powerful modern socialist country requires a solid material and technical foundation. Work related to Xinjiang occupies a position of special strategic importance within the overall work of the Party and the state; it bears upon the broader situation of building a powerful nation and the rejuvenation of the Chinese nation. Since the 18th National Congress of the CPC, General Secretary Xi Jinping has put forward important propositions such as "to govern the country, one must first govern the borders" [1] and "prospering the borders and enriching the people; stabilizing the borders and consolidating the frontiers," which provide guidance and a framework for accelerating the high-quality development of ethnic minority frontier regions. Under the direction charted by General Secretary Xi Jinping, the cadres and masses of all ethnic groups in Xinjiang have been striving and enterprising, achieving major breakthroughs in all fields of economic and social development. The problem of absolute poverty, which had plagued Xinjiang for thousands of years, has been solved historically, and Xinjiang has joined the rest of the country in building a moderately prosperous society in all respects. In 2024, the regional Gross Domestic Product (GDP) increased by 6.1% year-on-year, breaking the 2 trillion yuan threshold; the scale of trade continued to rise, with total import and export volume crossing the 200 billion, 300 billion, and 400 billion yuan marks in 2022, 2023, and 2024 respectively. On the New Journey, the foundation of "stability" in Xinjiang's economic and social development is more solid, the momentum of "progress" is significantly enhanced, and the quality and efficiency of "newness" have been vastly improved.
In constructing the new development pattern, promoting high-quality development, and advancing Chinese-path modernization, Xinjiang faces new opportunities and must demonstrate new initiative. It is essential to implement the new development philosophy completely, accurately, and comprehensively, using it to lead Xinjiang's high-quality development, and to devote great effort to implementing the concepts of innovative, coordinated, green, open, and shared development.
First, promote innovative development and develop new quality productive forces according to local conditions. Innovation is the primary engine of development. To promote Xinjiang's high-quality development, the primary task is to emancipate the mind, forming an innovative consciousness and thinking that adapts to new situations, conditions, goals, and requirements, while removing institutional and mechanistic obstacles by further comprehensively deepening reform. Scientific and technological innovation is the core element for developing new quality productive forces. To achieve breakthroughs in developing new quality productive forces according to local conditions, we must further promote the deep integration of technological and industrial innovation, properly implement the innovation-driven development strategy, continuously optimize the systems and mechanisms for technological innovation, and increase support for technical innovation. This will fully stimulate and release the vitality of Xinjiang’s scientific and technological talent, shaping new drivers and advantages for development. For example, Xinjiang is rich in mineral resources, and driving economic growth through the development of various minerals is an important path for promoting development. However, at the same time, we must avoid over-reliance on natural resource extraction. While continuing "shipping Xinjiang coal to the east" and "transmitting Xinjiang electricity to the east," we should actively cultivate strategic emerging industries, accelerate the development of the digital economy, and nurture new growth points. In 2024, Xinjiang's first intelligent computing center was completed and put into operation in Karamay; the "Xinjiang computing for Chongqing" [2] initiative was included in the national data infrastructure construction pilot, achieving an intelligent computing scale of 24,000 P. This represents a historic breakthrough for Xinjiang’s intelligent computing "from nothing to something." Looking to the future, we must exert practical effort in new economic sectors, plan measures to cultivate new quality productive forces, deeply implement "AI Plus" actions, and accelerate the cultivation and development of emerging and future industries such as the low-altitude economy, green computing, the hydrogen energy industry, bio-manufacturing, quantum technology, and commercial aerospace, while cultivating innovative enterprises in a graduated manner.
Second, promote coordinated development and facilitate regional coordination and urban-rural integration. The requirements for coordinated development are manifest at multiple levels and in various aspects. From a national perspective, we must plan Xinjiang's high-quality development from the overall situation of modernization, actively linking it with major regional strategies such as the coordinated development of the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region, the development of the Yangtze River Economic Belt, the construction of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, the integrated development of the Yangtze River Delta, and the ecological protection and high-quality development of the Yellow River Basin, as well as the construction of the New Western Land-Sea Corridor. Simultaneously, we must carry out "pairing assistance" [3] for Xinjiang with higher quality, deeply advancing assistance in technology, education, healthcare, and industry, and further deepening the "team-style" assistance model. Within Xinjiang itself, efforts must be focused on promoting urban-rural integrated development and advancing people-centered new-type urbanization. We must persist in the unified planning of urban construction for both the XPCC [4] and local governments, building the Urumqi metropolitan area, the Kashgar urban circle, the Tianshan North Slope urban agglomeration, the Northern Xinjiang urban belt, and the town belt surrounding the Tarim Basin. Moreover, we must strengthen the construction of key frontier towns, central towns for "prospering the borders and enriching the people," and new border villages to achieve the consolidation, enrichment, and strengthening of the frontiers. We also need to focus on raising the level of rural development, deeply mining characteristic rural resources, implementing brand strategies, cultivating new rural industries and business forms, and continuously expanding county-level industries that enrich the people, thereby promoting the integrated development of primary, secondary, and tertiary industries in rural areas and continuously consolidating and expanding the achievements of the battle against poverty.
Third, promote green development and push the construction of a Beautiful Xinjiang to greater depths. Green development is the backdrop of high-quality development. General Secretary Xi Jinping emphasized: "We must persist in the concept that lucid waters and lush mountains are invaluable assets [5], resolutely hold the red line of ecological protection, and coordinate the management of sand, water, forests, and grasslands to make the sky bluer, the mountains greener, and the water clearer in Great Beauty Xinjiang." In recent years, Xinjiang has continuously strengthened ecological environmental protection and construction, and the pace of green and low-carbon development has accelerated. In 2024, Karamay City and the Kuqa Economic and Technological Development Zone launched the first batch of national carbon-peak pilot projects; the Kuitun-Dushanze Economic Development Zone was selected as a national-level "Waste-Free Industrial Park"; and the scale of green electricity and green certificate trading both increased significantly. Looking forward, we must accelerate energy-saving and carbon-reduction transformations and the upgrading of energy-using equipment, promote the clean, low-carbon, safe, and efficient use of energy, and advance the construction of "waste-free cities" and zero-carbon industrial parks with high standards. We must strengthen the recycling of urban and industrial wastewater and expand the scale of medium- and long-term green power trading. Meanwhile, we will continue to promote the protection and restoration of ecosystems, systematically advancing the integrated protection and governance of mountains, rivers, forests, farmlands, lakes, grasslands, and deserts [6].
Fourth, promote open development and actively advance high-level opening up. Xinjiang’s geographical advantages are obvious, and the results of expanding high-level openness are significant. In 2024, the construction of the Silk Road Economic Belt Core Area accelerated; China-Europe (Central Asia) Railway Express trains transiting through the region increased by 14% for the year, reaching 16,400 trains. The construction of the Pilot Free Trade Zone progressed efficiently, with 129 reform tasks fully launched, resulting in 35 provincial-level institutional innovation outcomes and typical cases. To further promote Xinjiang's high-quality development, we must leverage Xinjiang's unique location and transform it into actual efficacy, actively serving and integrating into the new development pattern. Based on the advantage of China’s ultra-large-scale market, we can attract global resource elements via the domestic regional circulation, enhancing the linkage effect between domestic and international markets and resources. We should accelerate the implementation of reform tasks in the general plan for the Xinjiang Pilot Free Trade Zone, introducing a batch of institutional innovations characterized by significant influence, wide coverage, and high systematic integration. We must expand pragmatic cooperation with surrounding countries and regions, continuously strengthening deep cooperation in economy, trade, energy, science and technology, agriculture, and tourism. We will vigorously develop trade in services, green trade, digital trade, and trade in intermediate goods, ensuring that Xinjiang's door of opening up opens wider and its circle of partners grows larger.
Fifth, promote shared development, ensuring that the fruits of development benefit all ethnic groups in Xinjiang more extensively and equitably. In the comprehensive building of a powerful modern socialist country, not a single ethnic group can be left behind; in advancing Chinese-path modernization, not a single frontier region can be left behind. Improving people’s livelihoods and coalescing the hearts of the people are the core meanings of Xinjiang’s high-quality development. We must focus on solving the urgent, difficult, and anxious problems of the masses, constantly improving the sense of gain, happiness, and security of all ethnic groups in Xinjiang. We must take multiple measures to stabilize and expand employment, implementing the employment-first strategy. This includes implementing employment support plans for key areas, key industries, urban and rural grassroots, and small and medium-sized enterprises. We must continue to handle the employment of key groups such as college graduates, rural laborers, and those with difficulty finding work, promoting high-quality and full employment. Simultaneously, we must weave a tight and solid social security net, continuously improving the layered and classified social assistance system to effectively ensure the basic needs of the people. Furthermore, we must promote comprehensive rural revitalization, consolidate and expand the achievements of the battle against poverty, and effectively prevent any large-scale return to poverty. In short, we must persist in promoting Xinjiang’s high-quality development in a way that stays close to the livelihoods of the people.
Promoting Xinjiang's high-quality development is a systematic project. We must completely, accurately, and comprehensively implement the Party's Strategy for Governing Xinjiang in the New Era [7], using the new development philosophy to lead and promote high-quality development. At the same time, we must better coordinate development and security, as well as openness and security. We will further comprehensively deepen reform, expand high-level opening up, create high-quality lives, innovate high-efficiency governance, and guarantee high-level security, pushing the practice of Chinese-path modernization in Xinjiang toward new and solid steps.