Chinese President Xi Jinping made his first trip to China’s remote Xinjiang region since ordering the "strike hard” campaign eight years ago that targeted the local Uyghur population and soured ties with the U.S. over alleged human rights abuses.
Xi made an "inspection” of the western region’s capital of Urumqi, where he "called for strengthening party organizations” and offering services "to benefit residents of all ethnic groups,” the official Xinhua News Agency reported late Thursday.
The Chinese leader spent Tuesday and Wednesday in the region, which he lauded as a "hub in Belt and Road cooperation,” referring to Beijing’s infrastructure initiative to expand its influence abroad. He also visited a museum where he urged the "better preservation” of minority groups’ cultural heritage and watched a performance by the Kyrgyz ethnic minority.