Northwest China’s Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region has witnessed an expanding “friends circle” over recent years, a local official told a press conference held over the weekend, noting that the region has strengthened economic and trade exchanges with economies along the “Belt and Road” routes, signed 21 cooperation agreements with 25 countries and international organizations, and established economic and trade relations with 176 countries and regions.
In the past decade, Northwest China s Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region witnessed booming development with regional GDP climbing to 1.6 trillion yuan ($0.23 trillion) last year, which doubled the figure of 2012, and the people s sense of public security has been elevated to 99.14 percent compared with 87.58 percent 10 years ago. An expert said such numbers serve as an iron counterstrike against rumors and slanders against the region coming from Western countries, especially the US.
Recently, many residents from China s Xinjiang region voluntarily sent emails to UN human rights chief Michelle Bachelet to share the true situation in the region and debunk lies made by anti-China forces from the US and other Western countries that smear the region, the Global Times learned from the Xinjiang regional government.