Editor's note: Qiao Basheng, a special commentator on current affairs for CGTN, is a professor at the Institute of China's Borderland Studies, Zhejiang Normal University, and an adjunct professor at Northwest University of Political Science and Law. The article reflects the author's opinions and not necessarily those of CGTN.

In recent years, driven by anti-China motives, the United States and other Western countries have fabricated a whole set of false narratives about Xinjiang, including allegations of "forced labor," "genocide" and "cultural genocide," while buying off overseas Xinjiang ethnic separatists to act as their pawns.

Their aim is to produce anti-China films based on fabricated "evidence" and false "witnesses," portraying Xinjiang as a region filled with oppression and darkness. However, Xinjiang's rock-solid development data and the tangible improvements in people's livelihoods constitute the most powerful rebuttal of these lies.

Lies related to Xinjiang are carefully orchestrated political manipulation

In 2018, Lawrence Wilkerson, chief of staff to former U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell, unveiled the façade of Western narratives about Xinjiang: The best way to destabilize China is to form unrest from internal places like Xinjiang rather than external.

This strategic orientation has given rise to a so-called evidence factory on Xinjiang-related issues, causing Western reporting on Xinjiang to be rife with cherry-picked information and forced associations. French writer Maxime Vivas lamented, "The job of journalists is to reflect realities, whereas in the West, their job is to lie," accusing some Western media outlets of making up lies to discredit Xinjiang, and using propaganda as a weapon to hinder China's progress.

Private remarks by U.S. diplomats exposed in 2021 also reflect this reality. According to the diplomat, there is no problem in Xinjiang, and the U.S. government is well aware of that, but using Xinjiang to hype issues such as "forced labor" and "genocide" is a form of strategic contest and an effective means that can ultimately cause China to become completely mired. In plain terms, the lies related to Xinjiang do not emerge by accident but rather reflect a systematic political manipulation.

Xinjiang reveals a development miracle through economic data

However, Xinjiang's economic figures and social development tell another story, contrasting with Western "human rights abuse" allegations against the region.

In 2024, Xinjiang's regional gross domestic product surpassed 2 trillion yuan ($273 billion) for the first time, growing by 6.1 percent year on year, with the region's major economic indicators ranking among the highest nationwide.

Agricultural development has repeatedly reached new historical highs. In 2024, Xinjiang's grain output reached 23.3 billion kilograms, rising to 13th place nationwide, with a per-mu yield of around 525 kilograms, ranking first in the country. And in 2025, Xinjiang's total cotton output reached 6.17 million tonnes, accounting for 92.8 percent of the national total. The overall mechanization rate of cotton cultivation and harvesting in Xinjiang is expected to exceed 97.5 percent this year, boosting large-scale, mechanized and intelligent cotton production further.

Industrial development is no less striking. By the end of July 2025, the total installed capacity of the Xinjiang power grid had reached 219 million kilowatts, with renewable energy contributing a dominant 128 million kW, nearly 60 percent of the total, driven largely by rapid expansion in wind and solar power.

Energy storage capacity is also scaling up at an unprecedented pace, propelled by the surge in renewable projects. Together, these advances are doing more than strengthening energy security; they are laying the foundation for a more resilient and sustainable power system capable of absorbing and balancing Xinjiang's vast renewable output.

Safeguarding people's livelihoods underscores Xinjiang's broad-based social progress

In 2024, more than 77 percent of the region's fiscal expenditure was devoted to improving living standards, spanning employment, education, healthcare, housing, and other essential public services.

Xinjiang effectively safeguards workers' lawful rights and interests, including equal employment, remuneration, and participation in social insurance. In 2024 alone, the region created 483,200 new urban jobs.

Housing improvements tell a similarly compelling story. From 2011 to 2020, Xinjiang built nearly 2.67 million rural housing units, enabling more than 11 million farmers and herders from all ethnic groups to move into new homes. By the end of 2023, nearly 1.8 million units of urban shantytown renovation had been completed, benefiting more than 5 million people.

In the field of education, Xinjiang has continued to step up investment, upgrading facilities at 1,893 public kindergartens while promoting more balanced, high-quality compulsory education, and expanding and improving general senior high schools.

The region's medical security system has also been strengthened. Sixty Class A tertiary hospitals across Xinjiang have achieved mutual recognition of 377 types of examination and test results, as comprehensive reforms linking medical services, medical insurance, and pharmaceuticals continue to advance.

Cultural development is equally dynamic. The diverse traditional cultures of Xinjiang's ethnic groups are actively protected, while the promotion of the national common language and script and the protection of the languages and scripts of all ethnic groups proceed in parallel without being undermined.

The international community is increasingly bearing witness to the real Xinjiang. On the international stage, China's position on Xinjiang-related issues has gained growing understanding and support.

Over the past six years, more than 100 countries have expressed support for China's stance at the United Nations General Assembly and other international forums. In April 2025, 70 diplomats based in China from 43 countries and international organizations gathered in Beijing to share the Xinjiang stories they personally experienced. In September 2025, more than 60 foreign parliamentarians from five continents conducted in-depth visits to Xinjiang. A month later, a delegation of renowned Japanese scholars and business figures toured the region. The list of such visits and exchanges goes on and on.

Visit by visit, and dialogue by dialogue, international guests have come to see a Xinjiang that is real, multi-dimensional and comprehensive. Lies cannot withstand the weight of facts, and slander ultimately collapses in the face of truth. As Xinjiang emerges as China's western gateway for opening up and a vibrant hub of high-quality development, the story of people of all ethnic groups in Xinjiang working together to build a better life is being witnessed and shared by a growing global audience.

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