China Daily Global Edition (USA)
PLANTS SEW THE FABRIC OF CHANGE IN XINJIANG Efforts to grow textile industry and attract startups are providing employment for impoverished ethnic communities. Cao Yin reports from Aksu, Xinjiang. N
urgul Islam removed the white face mask covering her mouth and wiped the sweat from her eyes. “I used to be anxious about the future,” she shouted as banks of sewing machines roared around her, “but this job has set me free.”
The 21-year-old works in quality control for Ke Ning Textile Technology Co’s sock factory in Aksu, a city in the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region.
Before she was hired last year, Islam said she felt lost. “I had nothing to do, and I didn’t know what I could do.” She had not long graduated from an Aksu vocational school with a certificate in kindergarten teaching, yet she had no desire to return to her native Kartal, an impoverished township more than 50 kilometers away.
Fortunately, she was recruited by Ke Ning through a cooperation agreement Kartal signed with the city’s textile enterprises. “Now I’m paid 3,500 yuan ($520) a month, and I see hope in the plant, which I couldn’t in my village,” she said.
Xinjiang produces more than 60 percent of China’s commercial cotton, and Aksu is one of the biggest cultivation areas. In 2010, the city established the Textile Industrial Center, where 64 enterprises from across China have opened production lines, not only to to save on labor costs, but to create job opportunities for the region’s ethnic groups.
President Xi Jinping said in 2014 that fighting terrorism and religious extremism should be a top priority for Xinjiang, and boosting employment is seen by the authorities as key to regional security and stability.
The industrial center, which has clothing factories and weaving mills, has created more than 32,000 jobs, including 18,000 on production lines, according to Liu Yong, one of its directors. More than 95 percent of workers are from ethnic groups,andmostareage20to35,he said.
“We’re planning to set up more workshops in counties, towns and villages to provide more employment for people further out,” Liu added.
Family business
The biggest employer on the Asku industrial park is Huafu Top Dyed Melange Yarn Co, which is headquartered in Shenzhen, Guangdong province. Over the past three years, it has hired more than 2,300 locals, and the number is expected to increase to 4,000 by the end of this year, said Li Jiansheng, its administrative manager.
The company has five workshops across Xinjiang — Aksu is the largest — and employs more than 5,000 workers in total, he said, adding that the number could reach 12,000 by 2020.
“We provide our workers with textile skills and security training,” Li said. “Training for basic positions takes about 10 days, but it will take longer for more complicated roles.”
For workers with no experience with textiles or cotton, or unable to speak Mandarin, the company arranges for them to study at its on-site school, where classes are taught by senior workers fluent in Mandarin and Uygur.
All expenses, including meals and accommodation, are covered by the company during the training period.
Adila Amut, 18, started working at the Aksu yarn factory seven months ago, after almost a year of being taught how to spin rough and heavy cord into the fine thread used by sewing machines.
She said she got the job to help her family. “I earn about 2,000 yuan ($290) a month, which covers my younger brother’s school fees,” she said. “My parents don’t have much land, so they can’t earn much from farming.”
Her colleague, Padam Yassen, 43, is also using her salary to pay for school for her two younger sisters. Her higher income has meant her family can afford to leave the countryside and move into an apartment in Aksu.
Brave new world
At the Ke Ning factory, Islam’s job is to check at least 1,500 pairs of socks a day for defects. She also fixes any broken threads on a row of 12 sewing machines.
“I don’t find it boring at all. I can spot a defective sock at a glance,” she said, proudly. “The most important thing is that it has introduced me to a new world.”
In addition to providing accommodation and meals, the plant has a recreation room where workers regularly go to sing and dance, she said, adding, “If I miss my family, I can take a one-hour bus ride home to Kartal.”
AksuisthefurthestIslamhasever been from home, and she said the job has helped her become more outgoing. She has learned more aboutthetextileindustry,madenew friends and now often goes shopping for fashionable dresses in her spare time.
Not every recruit has been a successstory,however.Islamwasoneof about 30 trainees taken on by Ke Ning last summer, and less than half still work at the factory.
An interpreter who works for the city government explained that it’s usual for employees to leave as soon as they get their first paycheck. Some just don’t like the job, he said, “but then there are some that reapply again as soon as the money has run out.”
Islam said she is looking longer term — and is saving her money in the hope of one day being able to take a vacation overseas.
Job creators
Ahmet Yigemu, a human resources official in Awati, a county in Aksu, said the local government is offering incentives to lure startups, which can provide more jobs close to home for people age 25 to 35 from ethnic communities.
The county has set up a small business park with office space, training facilities and workshops, as well as streamlined procedures for various operating licenses.
“Young people are our hope,” he said. “As well as providing job opportunities, we also want to make it easier for people to start their own businesses.
“We hope entrepreneurs from ethnic groups, especially those who have graduated from higher-quality colleges outside Xinjiang, can lead the way in helping to create employment for more young people in rural areas.”
Many have already found jobs with the vehicle repair shops, garment factories and agricultural technology companies started by young entrepreneurs, Yigemu said, “and the number engaged in online businesses, such as e-commerce stores selling agricultural products, is rising.”
About 3,220 young people have also received free training in areas such as gardening and electrical engineering, he added. “We’ll provide more training. After all, professional skills can help young people go far.”