Chinese President Xi Jinping began a rare visit Tuesday to the northwest region of Xinjiang, home to numerous ethnic groups including Turkic-speaking Uyghurs, the official Xinhua news agency reported.
The vast territory borders several countries, including Kazakhstan, Afghanistan and Pakistan.
Xi arrived in the regional capital Urumqi to attend celebrations marking the 70th anniversary of the establishment of the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, Xinhua reported.
He met with representatives of all the ethnic groups and "expressed the hope that everyone would join forces and move forward together to build a beautiful Xinjiang," it said.
Xi made a rare visit to Tibet in August during celebrations to mark the region's 60th anniversary.
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