Baucus discusses human rights, religious issues in meeting with Xinjiang leaders

US Ambassador to China Max Baucus met with Xinjiang Party Secretary Zhang Chunxian last week to promote trade and discuss local conditions in Urumqi, capital of the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, the US Embassy to China confirmed Tuesday.

Baucus particularly discussed human rights and religious issues during the meeting with Zhang, reported China News Service.

This is Baucus' first Xinjiang visit since he was appointed ambassador in February. Former US ambassador to China Gary Locke gave a speech at Xinjiang University last year, marking the first visit from a US ambassador to Xinjiang in the last 20 years.

Pan Zhiping, a professor at the Xinjiang Academy of Social Sciences, told the Global Times that Baucus' visit to Xinjiang signals that the US government is paying increased attention to China. "It's the ambassador's duty to visit other cities and areas [in the country]. The visit shows that the US government wants to learn more about Xinjiang issues," he said.

Xu Jianying, a research fellow with the Research Center for Chinese Borderland History and Geography at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, told the Global Times that the visit can be seen as an exchange of ideas between the US government and the Xinjiang regional government.

"The visit allows the US government to understand more about Xinjiang's human rights and religious issues and it is an opportunity for them to exchange their ideas about how to deal with those problems," said Xu.

"The US has been paying attention to Xinjiang for years, and in recent years they began to change their methods and started to actually visit," Xu noted.

Xu however does not think it will become a normal practice for the US ambassador to visit Xinjiang every year.

On Monday, Erkin Twainiaz, vice-governor of the region, met with more than 20 reporters and photographers from 11 overseas Chinese-language media outlets in seven countries and regions in Urumqi.

During the meeting, Twainiaz said he hopes media can be more objective when they report about Xinjiang.