Chinese President Xi Jinping paid a rare visit to Xinjiang on Saturday, state media reported, asking officials to preserve "hard-won social stability" in a turbulent province where Beijing is accused of serious human rights violations, news agency AFP reported. The Chinese government has waged a years-long campaign in the northwestern area against what it calls terrorism and Islamic extremism, arresting significant numbers of Uyghurs and other Muslims. As per the AFP's report, President urged officials to "more deeply promote the Sinicisation of Islam and effectively control illegal religious activities". "We must enhance our awareness of adversities... and consolidate our hard-won social stability," he said, according to CCTV.
Last year, a United Nations investigation concluded that China's actions in Xinjiang may constitute "crimes against humanity," and the United States and other nations' legislators have called the practises "genocide" – allegations Beijing disputes.
According to CCTV, Xi visited Urumqi on Saturday, listened to a government work report, and delivered a speech "affirming the achievements made in various tasks in Xinjiang."
It was his first public visit to Xinjiang since last July, when he made his first trip after the region's crackdown was stepped up.
Xi "stressed that top priority must always be given to maintaining social stability... and we must use stability to guarantee development", CCTV reported. He further stated that it was "necessary to... combine the development of the anti-terrorism and anti-separatism struggle with the push for normalising social stability work and rule of law", according to the broadcaster.
"In the process of Chinese-style modernisation, we will better build a beautiful Xinjiang that is united and harmonious, wealthy and prosperous," he was quoted by AFP in its report.
Rights activists, international experts, and members of the Uyghur diaspora accuse China of committing a slew of atrocities in Xinjiang.
They include the detention of over a million Muslims in a network of extralegal facilities, subjecting them to forced labour, sterilisation, and political indoctrination, as well as the destruction of cultural and religious monuments.
Beijing strongly denies the charges, claiming that the institutions were vocational and voluntary training centres from which people had "graduated."
It has claimed that the charges are part of a US-led plan to defame China and limit its growth, and has sought to counter unfavourable Western news coverage of Xinjiang.
According to CCTV, Xi stressed in his address on Saturday that authorities must "strengthen positive publicity and demonstrate Xinjiang's new atmosphere of openness and self-confidence... (while) refuting all forms of false public opinion and negative or harmful speech."
According to the broadcaster, Xi stated that the region should be further opened up to local and foreign visitors.