I recently spent three days in Urumqi, a city once known as a hotbed of unrest in northwest China. This was my second visit to the city after almost 10 years, and the transformation that I witnessed was remarkable in every sense of word. Urumqi had the feel of a small town with a rudimentary industrial base.
Today, leading Chinese as well as international companies have established their regional headquarters there. The city has research and innovation centres, manufacturing plants, and trading hubs providing jobs to the locals.
I also had the opportunity to visit Yining that has developed into a bustling commercial and industrial complex along the Kazakhstan border, right on the Euro rail route. The once poor, rustic, and rugged shepherds have been provided with excellent homes at just 20 per cent of the cost, payable through easy instalments. They are equipped with modern agricultural techniques and skills in cattle and sheep breeding as well as the production of high-quality dairy products.
China first linked the Xinjiang region with the nation’s main trade routes, providing thousands of high-quality jobs to the indigenous population.
Next up, it revolutionised agriculture in the region by replacing primitive farming methods with ultra-modern techniques. There is every reason for Pakistan to learn from China’s successful practices, and to adjust them to suit its own context.
QAMAR BASHIR
ISLAMABAD
