Chinese President Xi Jinping said Friday that a "great wall of iron" to safeguard national unity, ethnic solidarity and social stability should be built in China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region. Xi, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, made the remarks while attending a panel discussion with national lawmakers from Xinjiang at the ongoing annual session of the National People's Congress (NPC). One of the NPC deputies from Xinjiang presented to Xi photos of family of Kurban Tulum, a Uygur farmer was twice received by the late Chairman Mao Zedong. Xi once wrote to reply a letter from a daughter of Kurban Tulum, underlining ethnic solidarity and efforts to build a bright future for Xinjiang under the CPC leadership. After listening to speeches made be several Xinjiang deputies, Xi was invited to speak at the panel discussion. Xi called for safeguarding ethnic unity, and reinforcing solidarity between the military and government, soldiers and civilians, police and the people, as well as between the production and construction corps and local communities. Xinjiang is an important "security barrier" in northwest China which holds a special strategic position and faces special issues, Xi said, adding that governing the region well is of great significance. He stressed that maintaining stability in Xinjiang is a political responsibility, and that stability-related issues must be handled in a thorough, timely and proper manner. He called for efforts to make long-term strategies, strengthen the foundation, and achieve lasting peace and stability in Xinjiang. Xi said the People's Republic of China is a united multi-ethnic country, and the history of Chinese nation is a history of different ethnic groups getting united and jointly forging ahead. "As a Uygur saying goes, 'achievements lie in harmony, and strength grows out of unity'. You see, China's 56 ethnic groups, how they enjoy their living and working in peace and contentment steadily, and how harmonious they are with one another. Just now I listened to this deputy from the Xibe ethnic group talking about how they were relocated there to guard the border area centuries ago and they made home there and have produced offspring over a long period of time. Indeed we should see our correct policy on ethnic groups, and we must continue adhering to it," Xi said. More on: http://www.cctvplus.com/news/20170310/8045073.shtml#!language=1 Subscribe us on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/CCTVPlus CCTV+ official website: http://www.cctvplus.com/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/cctv-news-content Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/NewsContent.CCTVPLUS Twitter: https://twitter.com/CCTV_Plus