International representatives and media outlets have for the first time been invited to sit in on or cover the upcoming annual political meetings in northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, local authorities said on Sunday.

The meetings, known as "Two Sessions," are the annual meetings of provincial-level lawmakers and political advisors, during which plans for local economic and social development in the year ahead are discussed. China's national-level Two Sessions normally take place in Beijing in March each year, after local meetings are finished.

The annual meeting of the Xinjiang regional people's congress will open on Tuesday, while the Xinjiang regional committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference will gather on Monday, according to a Sunday press conference.

The regional foreign affairs office has invited diplomats from the embassies of Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) member states, SCO observer states and dialogue partners, as well as representatives of international organizations such as the SCO Secretariat and the Central Asian Regional Economic Cooperation Institute, to sit in on the meetings.

Dozens of domestic and international media outlets attended the press conference on Sunday, including Türkiye's Anadolu Agency, Indonesia's Antara News Agency, Singapore's The Straits Times and Kazakhstan's Kazinform. Journalists from 10 media outlets in Hong Kong Special Administrative Region and Macao Special Administrative Region also attended the meeting.

(Cover: Performers dance at the grand bazaar in Urumqi, northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, January 23, 2023. /Xinhua)