A tourist takes photos of her pet dog at the Sayram Lake scenic area in Xinjiang on 21 May 2023 (XINHUA)

People-centred development is the core concept underlining China’s endeavours to improve human rights in China. “People’s happiness is the ultimate human right, while development holds the key to delivering better lives to the people,” Chinese President Xi Jinping reiterated in a letter to the 2023 Forum on the Development of Xizang, China. 

While adopting a holistic approach to human rights, China believes that for developing countries, the rights to subsistence and development are the primary human rights, and that high-quality, sustainable and equitable development can provide strong safeguards for the advancement of human rights. 

Xinjiang, which has long been the victim of the Western world’s attempts to politicise and weaponise human rights issues, stands as an ideal example of how development can promote human rights. The remote region once troubled by the problem of terrorism has embarked on a journey of high-quality development, providing a solid foundation for the happiness of the people.  

The region today boasts an open market with increasingly close ties with the rest of China, neighbouring countries and beyond. It is a hot destination for investment and industrial development thanks to its rich resources and enterprising drive for local development. It is also undergoing a green transformation that provides a beautiful home for residents while also boosting their incomes. It is burgeoning with opportunities for local young people to start businesses and careers and achieve personal development. 

What is happening in Xinjiang is not something one can lie about. Attracted by its beauty, culture and prosperity, more people are visiting the region. In 2023, it received 265 million tourist visits, an increase of 117 percent compared to the previous year. During the eight-day Spring Festival holiday in February, over 7 million tourist visits were made to the region. 

Among the visitors were diplomats, experts, and journalists from various countries, who went there to see with their own eyes the reality of Xinjiang. Any negative perceptions about the region created by misleading propaganda by the West is removed when they witness the beauty and vitality of the region with their own eyes. Judyth Muthoni Nsababera, Ugandan consul general in Guangzhou, said that she would not blindly believe the lies about Xinjiang that have been fabricated by the Western media, during a visit to Xinjiang in April 2023 with a delegation of envoys. As she and many others said, to understand Xinjiang, it is important to come to the region and feel it in person. 

Therefore, it is perhaps meaningful to set foot in the fields, factories, and homes in the villages and cities of Xinjiang to observe how locals are enjoying their life and how efforts made for local development are linked to the improvements in individual lives, as a means to understand China’s people-centered approach to human rights.