A grassland of the Ninth Division in the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps.

A farm of lavender in the Fourth Division of the XPCC.

Staff members at the XPCC's Tenth Division rake chili.

A tractor dumps a harvest of corn in the XPCC.

Facing a complex and challenging international and domestic environment while coping with the ongoing demands of reform, development and stability, the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps in Northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region has stabilized economic growth, employment and prices, ensured people's livelihoods and achieved sustained economic recovery with new progress in high-quality development.

Over the first three quarters of 2023, the XPCC achieved a GDP of about 229.2 billion yuan ($32.18 billion), an increase of 6.1 percent year-on-year. The total output value of agriculture, forestry, animal husbandry and fishery increased by 7.7 percent, the total output value of the construction industry surged by 9.5 percent, and total retail sales of consumer goods grew by 13.8 percent.

Overall, most indicators in the first three quarters of 2023 showed better growth rates than the first half and the first quarter of 2023, presenting a trend of "stabilization, recovery and improvement" in economic development.

From January to October 2023, the XPCC's fixed-asset investment surged by 10.2 percent year-on-year, with the primary industry's growth rate increasing by 65.3 percent, exceeding 50 percent for three consecutive months and contributing 53.6 percent to the overall investment growth. From January to October 2023, the completed investment in projects, each with a planned total investment of more than 1 billion yuan, grew by 27 percent year-on-year, accounting for 23.4 percent of the total investment.

The consumer market quickly rebounded, with the total retail sales of consumer goods by designated units reaching 18.87 billion yuan from January to October 2023, a year-on-year increase of 32 percent.

The XPCC has also carried out an array of automobile consumption subsidy activities. As of Nov 5,6,161 vehicles eligible for subsidies were sold in the 10 divisions and cities. From January to October 2023, auto retail sales amounted to 5.52 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 126.1 percent.

New retail business formats are developing rapidly, with the retail sales of goods through public networks by designated units reaching 2.17 billion yuan from January to October 2023 — a year-on-year increase of 434.6 percent.

The XPCC has formulated and implemented the Three-Year Action Plan for the Gradual Cultivation of High-Quality Enterprises in the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps (2023-25) to build a good industrial ecology led by leading enterprises, closely combined with small and medium-sized enterprises and the interconnected development of large, medium and small enterprises. It has also issued the Measures for Periodically Promoting the Continuous Upswing of the Industrial Economy in the XPCC to support enterprises and boost the sustained recovery and industrial economy. From January to October 2023, the added value of large-scale industries increased by 4.7 percent year-on-year.

Among them, the added value of State-owned enterprises above designated size grew by 7.8 percent year-on-year, and the added value of shareholding enterprises jumped by 10.3 percent.

Additionally, the XPCC has launched the Specific Measures to Optimize the Business Environment and Reduce the Institutional Transaction Costs for Market Entities to boost market confidence and support the development of market entities. As of the end of October, there were 259,000 various types of market entities in the XPCC, a year-on-year increase of 12.1 percent.

Improving livelihood

The XPCC has carried out 10 major actions to improve people's livelihoods, including stabilizing and expanding employment, increasing income, developing education and medical care, and improving ecological environment. It considers multilevel and diversified needs of people of all ethnic groups as a top priority, continuously meeting common concerns and resolving urgent issues.

The XPCC achieved a completion rate of 20 out of 34 specific livelihood matters by the end of October, with a total investment of nearly 5.6 billion yuan and a planned investment completion rate of 101.7 percent. As well, it has taken key measures to encourage employment and entrepreneurship, allocating subsidies amounting to 8.56 billion yuan, continuing the phased reduction of the unemployment insurance rates policy, and reducing the burden of corporate contributions by 5.17 billion yuan.

Emphasis has likewise been focused on ensuring the employment of key groups, supporting 16,000 college graduates and 34,700 new laborers to work or start businesses in the XPCC.

As of the end of October, the number of participants in urban employee basic medical insurance reached about 1.56 million. Meanwhile, residents participating in maternity insurance (785,000), basic medical insurance (1.17 million), basic old-age insurance (1.98 million), unemployment insurance (768,000) and workplace injury insurance (962,600) also increased.

A total of 2.92 million social security cards were issued, with an electronic social security card coverage rate of 65 percent.

wangjinhui@chinadaily.com.cn