“The media in the West obviously looks at Xinjiang from the political perspective of the ruling elites in western countries. And almost everything that they report about Xinjiang is negative and inaccurate. They do this, I think, partly out of ignorance, but partly out of mendacity, that is, the willingness to lie about the situation,” he said.

The International Forum on the History and Future of Xinjiang, China opened on Wednesday in Kashi, Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region. Barry Sautman, a retired professor from the Division of Social Science at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology and a distinguished professor at Tsinghua University took an exclusive interview with China News Network.

He pointed out that in recent years, Xinjiang region’s economic and social development has been rapid, and the living standards of people from all ethnic groups have significantly improved. However, the U.S. and other Western countries have continued to manipulate Xinjiang-related topics and make false accusations against the region.