China Highlights Minning Partnership as Model for Regional Development

China is marking the 30th anniversary of the Minning Collaboration, a flagship East-West pairing mechanism between coastal Fujian province and inland Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region. Established in 1996 and formally launched with the founding of Minning Village in 1997, the program relocated residents from the arid Xihaigu region to irrigated plains near Helan Mountain. Chinese leadership recently called for applying lessons from Minning to improve regional coordination and advance common prosperity across underdeveloped areas.

The Minning partnership serves as a primary benchmark for China's regional coordination and East-West pairing assistance. As Beijing transitions from targeted poverty alleviation to rural revitalization, institutionalizing mechanisms developed over 30 years in Minning provides a template for managing inter-provincial economic transfer, population relocation, and local industrial development.

China is highlighting the 30th anniversary of the Minning Collaboration, a regional pairing program between coastal Fujian province and the inland Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, as a central model for nationwide economic coordination. The initiative originated in 1996 under a national directive for East-West poverty alleviation pairing. In July 1997, the foundation ceremony for Minning Village was held near Helan Mountain in Ningxia. The program executed a relocation strategy known as 'Diaozhuang migration,' moving residents out of the impoverished and ecologically fragile Xihaigu region to irrigated lands along the Yellow River basin. Over three decades, the settlement expanded from a village of roughly 8,000 residents into Minning Town, which now houses over 66,000 people. Official statistics indicate that per capita annual income in the area rose from under 500 yuan at the project's inception to over 20,000 yuan by 2025. Financial assistance, infrastructure projects, and cadre exchanges sent from Fujian supported local development, transforming the arid terrain into a settled community with local schools, medical centers, and commercial infrastructure. In June 2026, Chinese President Xi Jinping issued instructions urging authorities to summarize and apply the experience of the Minning Collaboration to refine normalized East-West assistance and strengthen regional economic coordination. The directive aligns with broader national efforts to advance common prosperity through institutionalized regional cooperation. Local authorities are also attempting to diversify the township's economy beyond traditional agriculture and manufacturing. On July 1, 2026, Ningxia launched the 'Kanjian Minning - Drama Village' cultural tourism project in Yongning County. Featuring immersive theatrical performances based on the history of Xihaigu migrants, the site aims to bolster local tourism revenue and generate service-sector employment.