At a time as is now when China is going to open up its vast western region in the coming 21st century, the 1446.37km-long Nanjiang Railway has been successfully completed and opened to traffic. The railway has been claimed by the people of various nationalities in Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region as one of unity leading to regional prosperity.

This is an essay by People's Daily commentator, which reads in part as follows: At a time as is now when China is going to open up its vast western region in the coming 21st century, successful completion and opening to traffic of the 1446.37km-long Nanjiang (Southern Xinjiang) Railway has lately been reported. A key construction project set during the 9th five-year Plan period, the railway has been claimed by the people of various nationalities in Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region as one of unity leading to regional prosperity. With construction of the Nanjiang Railway, it is generally believed, a speedy economic growth will be brought about, thereby a great development of the whole region of Xinjiang with a population of 16.90 million.

Railways form the artery of the national economy, providing big conveniences for personnel, material and information exchanges between the frontier and inland areas in China. As has been set by the Party Central Committee and the State Council, essential for bringing about a great strategic development of the country's western region lies in an acceleration of infrastructure construction including railway construction in the region. Statistics show that China had only an average of 68km per 10,000sq.km in 1998. Of these, an average of 153km was in its east, 107km at its center, and a mere average of 26km in its west. In contrast, Xinjiang, with a vast territorial expanse of over1.06 million sq.km, about one-ninth of China's, bordering on Tadzhikistan, Kirghizstan, Pakistan, Afghanistan and India on its west, and with an ethnic population accounting for 85% of the local total, has merely a retarded economy being developed. The opening to traffic of the Nanjiang Railway will not only bring about a great development and opening up of southern and northern Xinjiang and their contacts with other parts of China but will also greatly help the people of various nationalities to speedily shake off poverty and become prosperous. This will further the unity of the people of various nationalities and strengthening of national defense on the borderland in contribution to the building of a united stable motherland. This points to the correctness of the great strategic decision of the Party Central Committee and the State Council in construction of the Nanjiang Railway and of the great strategy for opening up the country's western region.

But things should be done proceeding from reality and according to law as is demanded by the Party Central Committee and the State Council. Opening up the western region involves great social economic system work. Illustrative is the construction of the Nanjiang Railway especially that of the Kuerle-Keshen section. Though with less investment made greater, yet it has faster economic results achieved as a result of satisfactory work that has been done by the builders.

To put into practice the great strategy to open up the western region needs great amounts of money without doubt. But reliance on hard struggle and full mobilization of the great masses of builders and people in the western region should be stressed. Builders of Nanjiang have shown their completion devotion in defiance of all hardship, cold, summer heat and sandstorms on the Gobi Desert. This is the asset we must treasure when we are going to put into practice the great strategy set by the Party Central Committee and the State Council in building up a new prosperous, economically developed western region in the country in the coming new century.