Beijing signals stronger support for Xinjiang amid US sanctions

China has pledged to commit more resources to help Xinjiang as the far-western region faces tough US sanctions.

Wang Yang, who heads the Communist Party’s leading group on Xinjiang affairs, attended a meeting on “pairing assistance” – a decades-old practice under which China’s coastal provinces and municipalities are “paired up” with cities and counties in Xinjiang to send investment and personnel directly to those areas.

His comments suggested Beijing was ready to pour more resources into the region, which has been the subject of criticism and sanctions over claims of human rights abuses, including US sanctions targeting companies and industries there.

“Pairing assistance for Xinjiang is a major political task given by the central leadership,” Wang said. “[We] must insist that the funding goes to welfare, to the grass roots and key areas.”