China stresses ethnic unity, vows "leapfrog development"

Chinese leaders have called on "putting ethnic solidarity and national unity as the supreme interests of all ethnic groups," pledging more efforts to ensure leapfrog development in ethnic regions.

Ethnic affairs are a major issue that bear on national unity, stability in border areas, ethnic unity, social stability, and the lasting peace and prosperity of the nation, said a statement released after a central conference on ethic affairs which concluded on Monday.

China boasts 56 ethnic groups while ethnic autonomous areas account for 64 percent of the country's total land territory.

President Xi Jinping, Premier Li Keqiang, and top political advisor Yu Zhengsheng delivered speeches during the two-day event, while other top leaders including Zhang Dejiang, Liu Yunshan and Wang Qishan were also present.

The Party's ethnic theory and policy have been correct since the founding of New China 65 years ago, opening up a correct road with Chinese characteristics to resolve the ethnic issue, according to the statement.

"Ethnic relations in the country are harmonious in general," it said.

The leaders urged absolute opposition Han chauvinism and narrow nationalism.

The system of regional ethnic autonomy is an important part of China's policy on tackling ethnic affairs. The key for combining unity with autonomy, ethnic factors with regional factors, and the Constitution and the ethnic regional autonomous law is to help the autonomous areas to promote economic development and improve livelihoods of people living there.

Chinese leadership also called for enhanced efforts to ensure leapfrog development in the country's ethnic regions by mixing policy incentives and utilizing a region's natural strengths.

"Ethnic minorities and ethnic regions have witnessed significant progress since the founding of the New China, but certain ethnic regions still face considerable problems, such as poverty, and are still leagues away from the common goal of the comprehensive construction of a well-off society," the statement said.

It said differentiated regional policies should be applied to border areas, impoverished regions and ecological preservation areas to assist in development. Transfer payment and partner assistance programs should be further streamlined and central authorities, developed regions and ethnic regions must all pitch in actively to stimulate growth.

Calling the central authorities' support for accelerated economic and social development in ethnic regions a fundamental policy, the statement urged ethnic regions to deepen reform and opening-up, give renewed vitality to the market and inspire innovation.

Ethnic regions should bring their distinctive advantages into full play so as to explore their development potentials and improve their capability to achieve independent growth, it said.

The leaders stressed that infrastructure development in ethnic regions should serve their growth potential and focus on road construction and access to clean water, adding thaht authorities must find new ways to improve efficiency in poverty alleviation.

They called for urbanization in ethnic regions while taking into account the country's overall economic, transport and agricultural planning, and highlighted environmental protection as a priority.

Acocrding to the statement, ethnic regions should step up efforts to develop industries with local advantages, notably tourism, and boost the regions' "self-developing capacities."

"The momentum and vigor of ethnic regions' accelerated development ultimately lies in reform," the statement said, envisioning a scenario of joint development where various regions reciprocate and cooperate with each other.

It also underlined the key role of basic public services in improving people's livelihoods, noting that "the fundamental goal of developing economy is to let people of various ethnic groups live better lives."

A pairing system that enables various developed regions to help ethnic areas should be strengthened, with a special focus on improving local people's livelihoods at the grassroots levels, it added.

Ethnic minorities moving into cities should be better accepted and integrated into urban communities, it said.

The leadership urged an integrated social structure and community environment where people are not grouped based on ethnicity.

Cities should neither close doors to the inflow of ethnic minorities nor adopt a laissez-faire attitude, said the statement.

Legitimate rights and interests of people from all ethnic groups should be guaranteed. Discrimination, overt or covert, against ethnic minorities must be rectified and stopped, according to the statement.

To enhance national solidarity, efforts should be made to strengthen cultural identity and build a spiritual home shared by all the ethnicities.

Patriotic education should plant the seeds of loving China in every child to help socialist core values take root and grow in the generations to come.

Stressing the role of the Communist Party of China, the statement said as long as the nation adheres to the leadership by the Party, ethnic solidarity and unity will be guaranteed.

The document also paid attention to the role of officials from ethnic minorities, saying a better job should be done to train and select officials from ethnic minorities who are competent and virtuous.

Nearly 1,500 groups and individuals were rewarded at the conference for their contributions to enhancing unity.