The central government has pledged to boost employment in the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region, a move that experts say is crucial for improving livelihoods and maintaining stability.

President Xi Jinping said authorities in Xinjiang must make improving employment their top priority, urging them to help residents to gain more skills, to find jobs or to start their own businesses.

Xi was addressing a two-day, top-level conference on Xinjiang attended by nearly all senior Chinese officials and which closed on Thursday in Beijing.