Li Rui, Vice Governor of Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region was established on October 25th 1958, and in the past fifty years ever since its establishment, Ningxia received an energetic support and policy guidance from the CPC Central Committee and the State Council. Now, Ningxia enjoys a good situation of political stability, social harmoniousness, ethnic unity and advance of every social undertakings. For the time being, Ningxia’s economy develops fast, the people’s life standard raised and both the urban and rural areas take on a new look.

From 1958 to 2008, the region’s GDP increased from 329 million yuan to 109.85 billion yuan (increasing by 66.1 times) and the local financial income increased from 58 million yuan to 9.5 billion yuan (increasing by 163.5 times). The region’s per capita grain occupying amount is 536.2 kilograms, thus, Ningxia has not only solved problems of supplying enough food for the people to eat, it also becomes the only few provinces in China with grain occupying amount exceeding 500 kilograms, and it, too, exports parts of the local-produced grain out. Ningxia has also established a fairly comprehensive industrial system characterized with “five supers and one new”, that is, super industry of energy production, industry of chemical production, industry of machine making, of agricultural products processing and new material development. The installed power capacity in Ningxia is now well over 1,000 kilowatts; and the production amount of coal resource ranks the 3rd place in whole China.

By inputting total amount of 456.28 billion yuan on infrastructure facilities in the past fifty years, Ningxia has now got total 21,008 kilometers of roads, as in year 1958 this figure was just 2,686 kilometers. The length of express now exceeds 1,000 kilometers, and the mileage per 10,000 people ranks the front place in China. In today’s Ningxia, each county or city could reach the expressway just within one hour. With the open-up of the Zhongbao Railway, the railway mileage reaches 783 kilometers; thus, Ningxia has preliminarily formed a comprehensive system of railroad, highway and aviation transportations. The urban rate reaches as high as 45%, and it places 3rd position among all provinces and autonomous regions in China’s northwest. In Ningxia at the moment, each township and administrative villages has roads with bituminous cover, and it, too, connects with broad band, television, telephones as well as electricity; and people’s living environment has been changed dramatically.

Fifty years ago, majority of people in Ningxia led a kind of life under the poverty line, but in 2008 the disposable income for both urban and rural areas respectively exceed 12,932 yuan and 3,681 yuan, being 59.8 and 35.1 times more to compare with that of the year 1958. The sub-region of the XiHaiGu (initial letter for the three counties of Xiji, Haiyuan and Guyuan in Ningxia’s south), once known for “the poorest region under the heaven”, becomes rich and the ecological conditions there also changed much. Alongside the development of industries of education, science and technology, culture as well as public health, series of social issues such as seeking for employment opportunities, provision of social insurances / medical treatment, changing of people’s livelihood and creating opportunities for children’s schooling, etc., have also been changed to an effective degree.

We contribute Ningxia’s rapid change made in the past fifty years to the great support of the CPC Central Committee and the State Council as well as practice of the policy of the region’s self autonomy. With the correct guidance of the county’s policy on ethnic affairs and ethnic equality, Ningxia has now not only established but also consolidated a newly-typed relationship among different ethnics characterized with equality, unity and coordination. This has, in turn, facilitates a solid foundation for the region’s social and economic development as well as the region’s prosperity at large. The big change in the past fifty years demonstrates that the practice of the ethnic as well as ethnic autonomy policies suits the region’s actual situation, and it, therefore, has exerted great power or potentiality for further development. In future, we would, as always, regard the policy of ethic equality and of self-autonomy in ethnic-minority region as a “key to success” while conducting the work in all perspectives.

Thank You All !