URUMQI – Diplomatic envoys from 12 countries witnessed the social andeconomic progress in northwest China’s Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region ona tour from Dec. 28 to 30 in 2018.
The regional government invited diplomatic envoys as well asrepresentatives of diplomatic envoys from Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan,Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, India, Pakistan, Indonesia, Malaysia, Afghanistan,Thailand, and Kuwait.
The diplomatic envoys visited local markets, farmers, educationalinstitutes, mosques, factories, as well as vocational education andtraining centers.
Throughout the trip, they interacted with local vendors, students, andworkers in Xinjiang and learned about the region’s progress in maintainingsocial stability, improving people’s livelihood and developing localeconomy.They said they expected to cooperate with China’s Xinjiang in the fields ofculture, tourism, economyand trade.
At the Grand Bazaar in the regional capital Urumqi, Mumtaz Zahra Baloch,Charge d’Affaires of the Pakistani Embassy in China, said Xinjiang’scultural vitality and people’s hospitality had impressed her deeply.
A Pakistani businessman at the Bazaar told Baloch that he married a localUygur woman and is happy with his life and work in Urumqi.
At the Xinjiang Islamic Institute, which offers three-year bachelorprograms and religious training, Ambassador of Kuwait to China Sameeh JoharHayat encouraged the students to learn more and contribute what they learnto the development of their country. In Kashgar, the diplomatic envoys also visited a local economicdevelopment zone.
Upon seeing the wide variety of imported products from Europe, CentralAsia, and Southeast Asia in the zone,Piriya Khempon, ambassador of Thailand to China, said the trip had deepenedhis understanding of the Belt and Road Initiative, which he said is veryimportant to Kashgar’s development.
Khempon said he believed the city is bound to become a lot better in thecoming years thanks to its geographical advantage.
The diplomatic envoys also visited Id Kah Mosque in Kashgar, the largestmosque in Xinjiang, and were briefedon the mosque and its facility improvements.
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Mohammed Hosnie Shahiran Ismail, Counselor of the Malaysian Embassy inChina, said, through the tour, hesees that the Chinese government attaches great importance to religiousfreedom, and religious activities are protected by the state. The trip refreshed his understanding of Xinjiang, he said, adding theregion is different from what Westernmedia has portrayed.
At a vocational education and training center in Kashgar, students studyethnic instruments, calligraphy,painting, law, and many other skills. The envoys asked in detail about the students’ life in the center andplayed ping pong and basketball with them.
Ambassador of Indonesia to China Djauhari Oratmangun said the school hadleft a great impression on himand that students learn not only about law and skills, but also their ownculture.
At another vocational training center in Hotan, Kabaziyev Manarbek,Counselor of the Kazakhstan Embassyin China, received an oil painting created by a student who has studied artfor half a year in the center, as aNew Year gift.
Manarbek said students master vocational skills here through training andmake a living with these skills laterin life; it shows that the Chinese government truly cares about thesetrainees.
The envoys also visited a clothing factory in Hotan, where villagers whohave received training work onthe assembly lines. According to the factory owner, they receive a monthlysalary of more than 3,000yuan (438 U.S. dollars).
People are busy studying and working here, very different from the pastwhen people were often seenidling around without much to do, said Sayed Habiburahman Husinpur, Charged’Affaires of the AfghanistanEmbassy in China who has visited Xinjiang many times.
The vocational education and training program is a suitable arrangementthat has improved the lives ofmany people as well as their families, Husinpur said. Many countries faceissues such as “solvingunemployment and de-extremism,” but the programs in Xinjiang are reapinggood results and can providereference for other countries. – APP/Xinhua
