Northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region has made progress on various fronts over the past five years, according to Shohrat Zakir, chairman of the regional government.
Shohrat Zakir made the remarks in a regional government work report delivered to the regional legislature's annual session on Monday.
The following are facts and figures showcasing Xinjiang's progress:
-- The per capita disposable income of urban and rural residents in 2020 reached 34,838 yuan (5,389.4 U.S. dollars) and 14,056 yuan, respectively, with an average annual growth of 5.8 percent and 8.3 percent over the past five years, respectively.
-- Xinjiang has bid farewell to absolute poverty, with a total of 3.06 million rural people lifted out of poverty and all 35 poverty-stricken counties removed from the poverty list.
-- In 2020, Xinjiang's road mileage reached 209,000 km; the region has a total of 22 civil airports, ranking top among all provincial-level regions; the railway operation mileage reached 7,398 km, with trains reaching all cities and prefectures.
-- In 2020, Xinjiang's total cotton output was 5.16 million tonnes, accounting for 87.3 percent of the country's total output; the output of specialty forestry and fruit products amounted to 11.2 million tonnes.
-- Over the years, 70 percent of Xinjiang's fiscal expenditure and 80 percent of aid funds from 19 provinces and municipalities have been spent at the grassroots level and on improving people's livelihoods.
-- Xinjiang's tourism industry has entered the fast track. In 2017, Xinjiang received 100 million tourists from home and abroad; in 2019, the number reached 200 million; despite the impact of COVID-19, the number exceeded 158 million in 2020.
