State Council urges investment in Xinjiang economic zones

The State Council said Saturday that it would increase investment in two economic development zones in the Uygur Autonomous Region of Xinjiang, the site of several violent separatist protests in the past few years, state media reported. New measures including fiscal subsidies and tax preferences will encourage construction in the Kashgar and Korgas development zones, in western and southern Xinjiang, respectively. Subsidies from the central government will extend to 2015, and include income tax exception and discounted government loans to qualified companies. Labor-intensive industries such as farms will also receive discounts in power and transportation fees, while infrastructure will also be built out, including rail links with Kyrghyzstan, Uzbekistan and Pakistan.