China's President Xi Jinping makes rare visit to Xinjiang

Chinese President Xi Jinping began a rare visit Tuesday to the northwest region of Xinjiang, home to numerous ethnic groups including Turkic-speaking Uyghurs, the official Xinhua news agency reported.

The vast territory borders several countries, including Kazakhstan, Afghanistan and Pakistan.

Xi arrived in the regional capital Urumqi to attend celebrations marking the 70th anniversary of the establishment of the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, Xinhua reported.


He met with representatives of all the ethnic groups and "expressed the hope that everyone would join forces and move forward together to build a beautiful Xinjiang," it said.

Xinjiang has long been plagued by attacks that have left many civilians dead. For a decade, it has been the target of a tough security policy pursued in the name of counterterrorism.

Western NGOs and studies have reported mass internments in "re-education camps" and "forced labour".

These measures are said to particularly target Uyghurs, who are Muslim. Beijing denies these accusations and maintains that its policies have helped end attacks, combat extremism and ensure the region's economic development.

Xi made a rare visit to Tibet in August during celebrations to mark the region's 60th anniversary.

Human rights organisations accuse China of repressing religious freedom in Tibet and imposing strict surveillance of the population.

Beijing claims to have drastically improved living conditions for the inhabitants.