Employment and educational opportunities are seen as two of the main ways of addressing the core problem of poverty in northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, especially in the region's southern area where economic growth lags far behind the national average.

In recent years, Xinjiang has achieved remarkable progress in poverty reduction, to which an increase in jobs contributed greatly. In the first half of 2019, more than 350,000 new urban jobs were created in the region, while the total number of rural residents who found jobs in other Chinese cities was 1.7 million.

The Central Government has been implementing the pairing assistance program in Xinjiang since 1997, channeling financial support to Xinjiang from economically advanced regions of the country and sending officials and professionals to work there. Thanks to supporting policies, Xinjiang has established a number of industrial parks in poverty-stricken areas, which provide employment and drive local economic growth.

In addition, Xinjiang realized 15-year compulsory education in the entire region in 2018. This means that all students from kindergarten to high school, as well as those attending secondary vocational schools, receive free education.

(Photos by Xinhua News Agency)

Copyedited by Rebeca Toledo

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