Bater, vice-chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), led a team to Northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region from Aug 20 to 24 to survey the development of distinctive industries, including oil, gas and tourism, for high-quality development of the region. 

The team visited Burqin county in Altay prefecture, as well as Korla city and Yuli county in Bayingolin Mongolian autonomous prefecture, where they learned about the economic and social development of Xinjiang, particularly its distinctive industries. 

In Burqin county's Hemu and Kanas villages, the team learned that the region’s abundant cultural and tourism resources have been effectively developed, turning the area into a year-round tourist hotspot. In Daxi village of Yuli county, the smart agriculture and e-commerce pilot demonstration projects have helped reduce costs and increase efficiency in agricultural production, and boosted income of farmers. In Korla city, the team visited industrial parks specializing in oil and gas production and processing, new energy and new materials, and cotton and textiles, which have driven local economic growth and increased employment. 

Affirming that high-quality development is the primary task for comprehensively building a modern socialist country, the team stressed the importance of further deepening reforms in ethnic minority areas by leveraging local resources, development conditions and comparative advantages, and accelerating the building of a modernized industrial system that reflects local characteristics and strengths, in a bid to help the region better integrate into the new development paradigm and achieve high-quality development. 

It is essential to foster a strong sense of community for the Chinese nation throughout the development process of ethnic minority areas, the team said, emphasizing that reform and development should showcase national unity, safeguard national unification, oppose separatism, improve people's livelihoods and foster a stronger sense of unity.