Western China - china.org.cn

Xinjiang

Chongqing | Qinghai | Sichuan

Regional chairman: Abulait Abudurexit
Capital: UrumqiGovernment office address:
Telephone:
Website: www.xj.gov.cn

Geographical location

Lying in northwestern China, the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, also called Xin for short, was referred to as the Western Region in ancient times. It has an area of 1.66 million square kilometers, roughly about one-sixth of the total territory of China. Xinjiang is the largest and has the longest boundary line among China’s provinces and autonomous regions. It shares 5,600 kilometers of frontier with Mongolia in the northeast; Russia, Kazakhstan, Kirghiszstan, and Tadzhikistan in the west; and Afghanistan, Pakistan, and India in the southwest.

I. Geography and natural conditions

	Elevation: 7,435-- -155 meters Natural resources Land There are 68 million hectares of land which can be used for the development of agriculture, forestry, and animal husbandry, accounting for 41.19 percent of Xinjiang’s total area. Of which 9.33 million hectares can be reclaimed, over 4 million hectares are cultivated, 48 million hectares are natural grassland which can be utilized, and 666,700 hectares are man-made pasture. Xinjiang is one of the nation’s five major grazing areas. In addition, there are 4,839,300 hectares of land for forestry (including 1,533,300 hectares of forest with a reserve of 250 million cubic meters of timber). Minerals A total of 122 minerals, including more than 70 non-metal minerals, have been discovered. Xinjiang holds the first place among China’s provinces and autonomous regions in the deposits of beryllium, muscovite, natron saltpeter, pottery clay, and serpentine. The proved reserve of iron is 730 million tons; that of salt, 318 million tons; that of mirabilite, 170 million tons, and that of natron saltpeter, 2,326,000 tons. Xinjiang is known far and near for its muscovite, gemstone, asbestos, and Hetan jade. Energy Xinjiang has an annual runoff of 88.4 billion cubic meters of the surface water and 25.2 billion cubic meters of exploitable underground water. Glaciers stretch for 24,000 square kilometers and contain 2,580 billion cubic meters of water. There is a long duration of sunshine and the annual sunshine time lasts from 2,600 to 3,400 hours. The predicted reserve of coal in Xinjiang makes up of 37.7 percent of the nation’s predicted total while that of petroleum and natural gas was estimated at 30 billion tons, accounting for more than 25 percent of the national total. Animals and plants There are 699 species of wild animals, including 85 species of fish, 7 species of amphibians, 45 species of reptiles, and 137 species of mammals. More than 4,000 species of wild plants have been proved to grow in Xinjiang, of which more than 1,000 varieties, including bluish dogbane and kok-saghyz, are of special economic value. Environment and current issues In 1999, the annual surface water runoff was 93.41 billion cubic meters, increasing 17.6 percent as compared with the average annual figure for a number of years. The discharge of wastewater was 455 million tons, a decrease of 6.8 percent than that of the previous year. Domestic sewage made up of 62.8 percent of the total discharge of wastewater and the discharge of domestic sewage chemical oxygen demand was 41.2 percent of the total discharge, both slightly increasing over the figures of the previous year. Monitoring and surveys conducted on 60 key sections of 40 major rivers, seven lakes and reservoirs in Xinjiang showed that the quality of water was good in most of the rivers, lakes, and reservoirs. The quality of water in 92.4 percent of the surveyed 5,195-kilometer river courses reached or was better than the criteria of the class-three surface water environmental requirement, and only 7.6 percent of the length of the said river courses was polluted. In 1999, the air pollutants in Xinjiang were a mixture of fine sand in the air and smoke from burning coal. There was no marked difference in the degree of pollution as compared with that of the previous year. The source of pollution during the heating season mainly came from smoke dust and the source of pollution out of the heating season mainly was fine sand flying in the air. The principal pollutants were total suspended granules, sulfur dioxide, and nitrogen oxide. There was a worsening tendency in the pollution of nitrogen oxide with the rapid increase of motor vehicles. The volume of discharged smoke dust and industrial dust was 243,900 tons and 120,400 tons, dropping by 4.4 percent and 18.9 percent respectively when compared with the 1998 figures. The volume of discharged sulfur dioxide was 337,100 tons, virtually remaining the same as that of 1998. The discharge of smoke dust from daily life was 118,500 tons and the discharge of sulfur dioxide from daily life, 139,200 tons. The proportion of the volume of daily-life pollutant discharge in the total pollutant discharge was on the increase when compared with that of 1998. The monitoring of the air quality conducted in 16 cities revealed that the daily value of total suspended granules averaged 0.434 milligrams per cubic meter (0.341 milligrams per cubic meter in the cities in northern Xinjiang and 0.639 milligrams per cubic meter in the cities in southern Xinjiang), an increase of 0.03 milligrams per cubic meter over that of the previous year; that of sulfur dioxide, 0.024 milligrams per cubic meter; and that of nitrogen oxide, 0.036 milligrams per cubic meter, remaining more or less the same when compared with that of the previous year. Urumqi remained as the most serious-polluted city while Karamay was the city with the best air quality. In Urumqi, the average daily value of the total suspended granules was 0.463 milligrams per cubic meter, a drop of 0.039 milligrams per cubic meter as compared with that of the previous year; that of sulfur dioxide, 0.146 milligrams per cubic meter, an increase of 0.042 milligrams per cubic meter as compared with that of the previous year; and that of nitrogen oxide, 0.092 milligrams per cubic meter, an increase of 0.006 milligrams per cubic meter as compared with that of the previous year. According to the state’s “Control over the Total Volume of Pollutant Discharge” and “Plan of the Trans-Century Greening Project,” by the end of the year 2000, the pollutants discharged from all the industrial pollution sources in Xinjiang are required to meet the national and local standards, the environmental air and underground water environmental quality in different domains should be up to the relevant requirements as stipulated in the state regulations, and the deterioration of the ecosystem (ecocide) along the green corridor in the Tarim River valley should be brought under control. In the above said cities, 189 square kilometers of smoke dust control areas have been set up and 167 square kilometers have reached the requirements of noise control, accounting for 53percent and 47percent of the established urban areas in these cities.
II. Population
	Total population: 17,473,500 Population growth rate: 1.28 percent (1998) Life expectancy (average) Xinjiang is a region in the world, where people have a longer life expectancy. The third national census showed that there were 3,765 people over the age of 100 in China. Of whom 865 were in Xinjiang. Hetan Prefecture was designated by the International Society of Natural Medicine as a long-life prefecture in the world. Ethnicity There live in Xinjiang 1,073,300 people from 46 ethnic minority groups, or 61.42 percent of the total population, and 6,601,000 Han people. Thirteen of the 47 ethnic groups – the Uygur, Han, Kazak, Hui, Mongolian, Kirgiz, Tajik, Xibe, Ozbek, Manchu, Daur, Tartar, and Russian – have lived there for generations. Literacy At the end of 1998, there were 7,100 primary schools, more than 100 polytechnic schools, and 18 colleges and university with a teaching staff of 180,000. In 1998, 276 graduate students were admitted into the colleges, university, and research institutes, an increase of 18percent over 1997. The number of graduate students studying in school was 747, an increase of 15.5percent over the figure of 1997. There were 775,200 students in regular junior high schools, an increase of 9.5 percent over that of 1997; 2,502,700 primary school students, an increase of 3.4 percent; students in adult-educational colleges and universities, an increase of 5.19 percent; 822.62 million students in and 230.9 million graduates from polytechnic schools; and 46,717 students in and 11,228 graduates from colleges and university. In 1998, 96,500 people got rid of illiteracy, an increase of 35.7 percent, and the percentage of illiterate and semi-illiterate people among the people at the age of 15 and over was 11.4.
III. Economy
	GDP: 111.667 billion yuan (1998) GDP growth rate: Average GDP per capita: 6,667 yuan (1998) GDP ratio (1^st, 2^nd and tertiary industries): 29.105 billion yuan, 43.073 billion yuan, and 39.489 billion yuan respectively. Poverty-alleviation plan To provide textbooks to children from poverty-stricken families and strive to solve the problem of food and clothing for the poverty-stricken people by the year 2000. Inflation rate: Unemployment rate: Revenues: 6,539.28 million yuan (1998) Industrial output value: 75.801 billion yuan (1998) Agricultural output value: 49.11 billion yuan (1998) Foreign trade Xinjiang has established economic and trade relations with more than 70 countries and regions in the world. The varieties of commodities Xinjiang exports have increased from more than 10 to nearly 200. Xinjiang enjoys a high reputation on the international market for its local and special products, textiles, and machinery. At present, there are six open cities and economic and technological development zones in Xinjiang. There are also 15 trade passes opening to the outside world. In 1998, the total import and export value reached US$1,690.87 million. Of which US$654.85 million was from export and US$1,036.02 million, from import. Foreign investment There are 110 firms from Hong Kong which have invested US$160 million. Most of the Hong Kong firms are small in size. There are also 13 enterprises established with investment by companies from Taiwan. Xinjiang has attracted a total of 2.2 billion yuan foreign funds. It plans to attract US$200.75 million in the year 2001, of which US$182.75 million will come from foreign loans, an increase of 16.3 percent over the figure of last year, and US$18 million from investment by foreign businessmen, an increase of 5.8 percent. In 1998, the import and export value of foreign-funded enterprises in Xinjiang reached US$115.58 million, US$84.99 million from export and US$30.59 from import. Pillar industries Oil exploitation, petrochemicals, textiles, grain production, chemicals, machinery, electricity, and forest industry.
IV. Telecommunications
	Telephones All the prefectures, cities, and counties in Xinjiang have become part of China’s automatic long-distance telephone network. Optical cables linking northern and southern Xinjiang with European and Asian countries have been in operation. Radio and TV stations There are six broadcasting stations, 39 short- and medium-wave transmitting and relay stations, 18 TV stations, and 61 TV transmitting and relay stations each with a capacity of more than one kw.
V. Transportation
	Railways The project to quicken train speed on the Lanzhou-Xinjiang Railway, one of the major projects in China’s third drive to upgrade train speed, is expected to be completed by October 1, 2000. The Lanzhou-Xinjiang Railway, which extends more 2,000 kilometers from Lanzhou City in Gansu Province in the east to the Alataw Pass, the westernmost point on the Chinese section of the second Eurasian Bridge, is an artery linking China’s west and east and the only railroad leading from Xinjiang to the rest of China. The dual-track route of the Lanzhou-Urumqi Railroad has been open to traffic. Construction of the Korla-Kashi section of the Southern Xinjiang Railroad, also a major project, is in full swing. An investment of 2.4 billion yuan has been completed in the westward extension project of the Southern Xinjiang Railroad. On December 29, 1998, tracks were laid to Xiggar. A total of 826.9 kilometers of tracks were laid, 101 kilometers more than that in the annual plan. On December 1, 1998, the Korla-Aksu section was put into trial operation. In 1998, the Urumqi Railway Bureau transported 29.142 million tons of freight, increasing 3.9 percent over that in the previous year. Highways Highways now reach 99 percent towns and villages in all counties and prefectures. A road-transportation network comprising seven national highways and 62 regional main highways links Urumqi with Gansu and QingHai provinces in the east, the Tibet Autonomous Region in the south, and Central Asian counties in the west. In 1998, the length of major highways open to traffic reached 32,701 kilometers. Waterways Seasonal steamers and barges can sail on the Ili and Ertix rivers. Airports Xinjiang leads China’s other provinces and autonomous regions in the number of airports and the length of civil aviation routes. The Urumqi International Airport, one of China’s six major airports, has flights to West Asian and European countries. Air routes lead from Urumqi to Lanzhou, Xi’an, Beijing, Shanghai as well as Xinjiang’s Hami, Korla, Kuqa, Hetan, Kashi, Aksu, Yining, Karamay, Fuyun, and Altay. The Urumqi International Airport now is under expansion. In 1998, the Xinjiang Airline Company shipped a freight volume of 298.7734 million tons/kilometers, a passenger volume of 1,340,600 people/times, and a mail volume of 26,862.4 tons.
VI. Projects wanting foreign investment
	Agriculture, energy, transportation, post and telecommunications, communications, urban construction, public health, industrial product processing, tourism, foreign trade, finance, insurance, commerce, and commodity retails.
VII. Favorable policies for foreign investment
	After determining the focal point in attracting foreign investment for the year 2000, Xinjiang will take the opportunity in China’s drive to develop its central and western regions and bring into full play of the preferential policies granted by the state. People at the local planning department will pay close attention to the process of negotiations on China’s accession to the World Trade Organization and work out measures to be adopted by the government of the autonomous region after China’s entry into the WTO. Preferential policies for foreign investment Measures of Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region to Encourage Foreign Investment (for trial implementation) Artilce 1: The measures were drawn up especially in accordance with the Law of the Regonal Autonomy of Ethnic Minorities of the People’s Republic of China, A Guiding Catalog of the Industries for Foreign Investment of the People’s Republic of China, other state laws and regulations as well as the specific conditions of the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, aimed at encouraging investment by foreign businessmen in the autonomous region and protecting their legal rights and interests. Article 2: The measures apply to enterprises and other projects established with investment by foreign firms, enterprises, and other economic organizations and individuals (herinafter referred to jointly as foreign invested enterprises) in the autonomous region. Article 3: Foreign investors may adopt the following means of investment according to law: 1). To establish wholly foreign-owned enterprises, joint ventures, and cooperative enterprises. 2). To participate in or hold shares of or purchase, contract to run, or run under lease state-owned, collective-owned, or private-operated enterprises or enterprises with other ownerships. 3). To engage in processing trade items. 4). To engage in building-operating-transfering (BOT) “without recourse” fund-raising projects. 5). To make other modes of investment permitted by the laws, decrees, regulations, and policies. Article 4: Major industries in which foreign investment is encouraged. 1). The development of agriculture, forestry, animal husbandry and the deep-procesing of their products. 2). The construction of such basic industries and facilities as water conservation, energy sources, and transportation. 3). Textles and light industry: Finish touch and processing of leather products; high-grade simulated chemical fabrics; fabric dyeing, printing, and finish touches; and commercial paper pulp production. 4). Chemical industry: Petrochemicals, agricultural chemicals, and fine chemicals. 5). The prospection and expoitation of metal and non-metal minerals. 6). Building material industry: New-type and energy-saving building materials. 7). New-type industries: New materials, bioengineering technologies, development of energy-saving technologies, technologies for resource regeneration and comprehensive utilization, and environmental pollution control projects and control technologies. Article 5: Foreign-funded enterprises are entitled to the following preferential tax policies: 1). Foreign-funded enterprises established in the autonomous region with an operation period more than ten years shall be exempt from 3 percent of the local income tax out of the income tax levied on foreign-funded and foreign enterprises. 2). Foreign-funded productive enterprises established in the development zones with approval by the State Council shall be levied the income tax of foreign-funded and foreign enterpries (hereinafter called business tax for short) according to a reduced tax rate of 15 percent. Foreign-funded productive enterprises established in the development zones with approval by the government of the autonomous region shall be levied according to the statutory tarrif. The portion exceeding the stipulated15 percent may be first collected and then returned by the local finance department according to relevant regulations. Foreign-funded enterprises with an operational period more than ten years may enjoy exemption from the business income tax for the first two years beginning with the profit-making year and a reduction of half of the business income tax for the third, fourth and fifth years. The portion of tarrif levied beyond 10 percent on those established in the development zones with approval by the government of the autonomous region may be first collected and then returned by the local finance department according to relevant regutions. 3). Foreign-funded productive enterprises set up in the cities opening to the outisde world (Urumqi, Yining, Tacheng, and Bole) with approval by the State Council shall be entitled to a reduction of the business income tax and levied at a tarrif of 24 percent. Foreign-funded enterprises established in other places of Xinjiang belonging to the categories whose operation is encouraged according to the Measures shall be levied according to the statutory tax rate. The portion exceeding 24 percent shall be first collected and then returned by the local finance department. Those with an operational period more than ten years may enjoy an exemption from the business income tax for the first two profit-making years and a reduction of half of the business income tax for the third through the fifth profit-making year. 4). Foreign-funded enterprises engaged in the development of energy sources (exclusive the exploitation of oil and natural gas) and transportation (exclusive passenger transport) in the cities opening to the outside world (Urumqi, Yining, Tacheng, and Bole) with approval by the State Council shall be levied the business income tax at a rate of 15 percent of their productivity. The portion beyond 15 percent shall be first collected and then returned by the local finance department according to relevant regulations. Those whose operational period is more than ten years may enjoy exemption from the business income tax for the first two years beginning the profit-making year and a reduction of half of the business income tax for the third through the fifth profit-making year. From the sixth to the tenth year, the local finance department shall first collect the business income tax and then return 50 percent of the collected amount according to relevant regulations. 5). Foreign investors of the foreign-funded enterprises who reinvest their share of profits in their enterprises to increase the registered capital or in other new enterprises with an operational period not less than five years may apply for a refund of 40 percent of the paid income tax for the amount of reinvestment, subject to approval by the taxation authority. The remaining 60 percent shall be first collected and then returned by the local finance department according to relevant regulations. The income tax returned to those who withdraw their investment from the enterprises before the five-year-term of operation expires shall be recovered. A full amount of the business income tax paid for the portion of reinvestment shall be returned to foreign investors reinvesting to set up or expand export-oriented enterprises and technology-advanced enterprises. Enterprises newly established or expanded with reinvestment by foreign investors shall hand back the 60 percent of tax returned to them in case that they fail to meet the criteria set for the export-oriented enterprises or to continue to be identified as technology-advanced enterprises within a period of three years beginning with the year of operation. 6). Foreign-funded enterprises shall be exempt from the license tax for the use of the automobiles and boats and the urban housing and land tax for five years beginning with the month they are in operation. 7). Foreign-funded enterprises engaged in land reclamation to develop agricultural production may enjoy an exemption from the agricultural tax for five years. Article 6: Foreign-funded enterprises are entitled to the following preferential policies for the use of land: 1). Land may be provided by appopriation for foreign-funded enterprises engaging in the production of agriculture, forestry, and animal husbandry or investing in the development of water conservation, energy, transporation, and other basic facilities. Those engaging in the production of agriculture, forestry, and animal husbandry shall be exempt from the fees for the use of land for five years, and those engaging in the development of water conservation, energy, transportation, and other basic facilities, for ten years. Those who start business on the Gobi, wasteland, or barren mountains unsuitable for neither agriculture, forestry, nor animal husbandry outside the areas planned for urban construction may enjoy an exemption from the land compensatory fees and the fees for land use for 20 years. 2). The term of the right of land use which foreign-funded enterprises obtain by means of transfer shall be no ore than 40 years for commercial purpose, no more than 50 years for industrial production, and no more than 70 years for the erection of residences. 3). Foreign-funded enterprises enjoying the priority of encouragement as stipulated in the Measures shall be entitled to a six-year exemption from the fees for transfering the right to use land beginning with the day they obtain the right of land-use by means of land transfer. 4). Foreign-funded enterprises not given the priority of encouragement in the Measures shall exempt from the fees for transfering the right of land use for four years beginning with the day they obtain the right of land-use by means of land transfer. 5). Foreign-funded enterprises who obtain the right to use land by means of land transfer and have difficulties in making a lump-sum payment of the transfer fees for the right of land-use may be allowed to pay by instalments the said fees within the first three years of operation. 6). Chinese parnters in Sino-foreign joint ventures and cooperative enterprises may covert the land assets into money and then bcome holders of state shares. 7). Foreign-funded enterprises may be allowed to transfer, lease, or mortgage on the land they obtain the right of use by means of land transfer after paying the full amount of the transfer fees according to law, and those which obtain the right of land-use by appropriation may do the same thing according to law after paying the full amount of the transfer fee for the right of land-use. Article 7: Other preferential policies foreign-funded enterprise are entitled to: 1). Foreign-funded enterprises shall be levied half of the fees for auxiliary urban infrastructure. 2). Foreign staff of foreign-funded exterprises shall be charged at the same rate as to Chinese citiznes when getting accommodations, taking buses, trains, and airplanes or visiting scenic spots in Xinjiang. 3). Foreign-funded enterprises are subject to no restrictions of the institutional purchasing power and shall be exempt from the additional fees for the control of institutional purchasing power when purchasing self-used office and daily-life articles (inclusive automobiles and motorcycles) in China and from abroad. 4). The criteria of fees imposed on the self-used motor vehicles of foreign-funded enterprises shall be the same as that on state-owned motor vehicles in the autonomous region. 5). Foreign-funded enterprises shall be treated in the same way as state-owned enterprises in paying various fees for production and operation. 6). Enterprises established in the autonomous region with businessmen and firms from other places in China shall be entitled to the preferential treatment to foreign-funded enterprises upon approval when the investment by the businessmen and firms from other places in China makes up more than 25 percent of the registered capital of the enterprises. 7). Enterprises established by foreign businessmen entrusting their relatives and friends in China shall be entitled to the preferential treatment to foreign-funded enterprises upon approval when the investment by the foreign businessmen account for more than 25 percent of the registered capital of the enterprises. 8). Intermediary organizations and individuals that introduce foreign investment shall be entitled to a proper bonus by the beneficial Chinese sides according to the actual amount of investment received. 9). Priority shall be given in ensuring the supply of water, electricity, heating, and steam needed in the production and operaton of foreign-funded enterprises and in makaing arrangement for the use of land, the transport of their goods and products, and their import and export quotas. 10). Those engaged in highway projects may carry out land development and service operation related to their projects within a certain area along the highways, subject to approval. 11). Within the scope permitted by the state and autonomous region’s laws, decrees, and regulations, foreign-funded enterprises are entitled to the rights of autonomy as follows: They shall have the right to decide the mode of production, operation, and management as well as the forms of pay districution and the level of pay; to take in and dismiss employees; to set up their internal structures, to hire and discharge responisble members at various levels in the enterprises; and to fix the price of their products. Article 8: To applications with complete supporting materials for the establishment of foreign-funded projects, the examining and approving authority shall make a positive or negative response within five working days and finish the procedures of examinations and approval their departments are responsible for within ten working days. The department concerned shall submit to the state department concerned applications for projects above the quota and Class-B projects listed in the category whose development is restricted in A Guiding Catalog of Industries for Foreign Investment of the People’s Republic of China within 15 working days. Meanwhile, the work of qualification confirmation of foreign-funded enterprises shall be strengthened. Article 9: In handling the entry and exit procedures of employees of foreign-funded enterprises, the principle of priority to those who are of the same rank shall be observed. Article 10: It shall be forbidden to impose indiscriminate quota, unauthorized charges, and unjustified fine on foreign-funded enterprises. It shall be carried out in a strict way The Management Regulations Governing the Imposition of Administrative and Operating Fees in Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region and the relevant state policies and regulations in the work involving the adminstrative and operating fees levied on foreign-funded enterprises. The items of fees levied shall be made public and compiled into a uniform fee-collection handbook by the finance and pricing departments of the autonomous region. The department concerned in various places shall collect the abovesaid fees according to what are listed in the handbook. The fee collecting unit shall only perform its duty when it possesses the license issed by Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region for the collection of administrative and operating fees and shall draw up a special, uniform fee-collection receipt printed and issued by the Finance Department under the government of Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region. All other kinds of receipt are invalid. Foreign-funded enterprises shall have the right to refuse to pay any administrative and operating fees imposed on them in violation of the stipulations in this article. Article 11: The lawful rights and interests of foreign-funded enterprises are protected by law. No departments and individuals shall be allowed to interfere in the legal operation of the enterprises. In case of infringement of their legal rights and interests, they may make complaint to the people’s governments and departments at various levels or directly submit their cases to the court. Article 12: Enterprises invested by compatriots from Hong Kong, Macao, and Taiwan and by overseas Chinese shall refer to the Measures unless there are other stipulations in the relevant laws and regulations. Article 13: The Foreign-Investment Office under the People’s Government of Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region is responsible for explaining the Measures and orginazing departments concerned to work out detailed rules and regulations governing the implementation of the Measures. Article 14: The Measures shall be implemented on the day of promulgation. In case that policies formulated in the past to encourage foreign investment do not conform to the Measures, take the Measures as the guideline.