Xi attends celebration of Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region's 70th founding anniversary

China

Xi attends celebration of Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region's 70th founding anniversary

2025-09-25 12:26 Last Updated At：17:07

President Xi Jinping attended a grand gathering on Thursday in Urumqi, capital of Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, to celebrate the region's 70th founding anniversary.

Xi, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, joined local officials and people from all ethnic groups and all walks of life in the celebration.

Erkin Tuniyaz, chairman of the regional government, announced the commencement of the celebration at 10:30.

Also present were other senior officials from Beijing, including Wang Huning, chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference and head of the central delegation for the anniversary celebration activities, and Cai Qi, director of the General Office of the CPC Central Committee.

During the event, Li Ganjie, deputy head of the central delegation, read a congratulatory message from the CPC Central Committee, the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress, the State Council, the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference and the Central Military Commission.

Over the past seven decades, Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region in northwest China has undergone profound economic and social transformation.

From just 1.23 billion yuan (173.1 million U.S. dollars) in 1955, Xinjiang's GDP reached over 2 trillion yuan by 2024. Notably, from 2012 to 2024, Xinjiang's GDP grew at an annual rate of 7 percent at constant prices -- significantly outpacing the national average.

By 2020, 3.06 million residents in Xinjiang were lifted out of poverty as China eradicated absolute poverty across the country. In 2024, per capita annual disposable income in Xinjiang reached 42,820 yuan for urban residents and 19,427 yuan for rural residents.

UNGA President warns global multilateral system "under attack"

The multilateral system is "under attack" amid global turmoil, President of the 80th UN General Assembly Annalena Baerbock warned in her remarks on Wednesday.

In her briefing on the priorities for the resumed 80th Session of the General Assembly, the UNGA president noted that the current multilateral system does not collapse all in a sudden, but "crumbles piece by piece" in divisions, compromises, and lack of political commitment.

The president called all the UN member states to defend the UN Charter and international law and promote cross-regional cooperation.

She also urged to push forward the work of the UNGA on certain critical issues with a strong majority, rather than an absolute consensus among all member states. Such act is not a failure of multilateralism, but "an affirmation of it," she said.

The foundational principles of the institution should not be eroded by appeasement, she said, calling the member states to show courage, leadership, and responsibility at the UN's "critical make-or-break moment."

"The UN needs you. Your support, your leadership, your principle, stand, your cross-regional cooperation, if we are to preserve and modernize this institution, if we are to make it, rather than break it," she said.