A team from the Committee on Ethnic and Religious Affairs of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) conducted a survey in Southwest China's Sichuan province from May 12 to 16, focusing on issues concerning the socioeconomic development of areas with large ethnic minority populations during the 15th Five-Year Plan period (2026-30).

The team visited villages, enterprises, museums, and religious venues in Xichang city, Yanyuan and Muli counties in the Liangshan Yi autonomous prefecture, as well as Daocheng county in the Ganzi Tibetan autonomous prefecture. They talked with grassroots officials and local residents to gather opinions and suggestions.

The team noted that the 15th Five-Year Plan period will be a crucial bridge leading to the goal of basically achieving socialist modernization by 2035. It is of great significance for high-quality development of the ethnic minority areas to scientifically formulate and consistently implement the five-year plan and to further integrate the areas into China's new development pattern and major national strategies, they said.

The team emphasized that ensuring and improving people's well-being through development and making solid progress toward common prosperity should serve as a core value when planning for economic and social progress in the upcoming five years. They called on the ethnic minority regions to consolidate their strengths, address bottlenecks, overcome weaknesses, and focus on enhancing quality and efficiency of their work. 

Efforts should be made to accelerate the growth of distinctive industries and foster new quality productive forces tailored to local conditions, while enhancing innovation capacity within industrial chains, they noted. They also highlighted the importance of fully leveraging the rich cultural and natural resources of these regions to promote deeper integration of culture and tourism.

The team affirmed that the CPPCC will continue to fully tap its role as a specialized consultative body, conduct in-depth research and surveys and put forward targeted policy recommendations to support the sustainable development of ethnic minority regions.