Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps - History

History

The XPCC draws from the traditional Chinese tuntian system, a policy of settling military units in frontier areas so that they become self-sufficient in food, and similar policies in the Tang and Qing dynasties. Construction corps were set up for several sparsely-populated frontier regions, including Heilongjiang, Inner Mongolia, and Xinjiang. The newly founded People's Republic of China also had the problem of what to do with many former non-Communist soldiers who had been removed from economic production for many years. Ideas about settling such soldiers on the land had been common in China for many years. The Chinese government formed the XPCC from soldiers from the (Communist) First Field Army, former Guomindang soldiers and soldiers from the local Ili National Army. The XPCC itself was founded in October 1954, comprising 175,000 military personnel based in Xinjiang, led by Tao Zhiyue as its first commander-in-chief.

The XPCC was initially focused on settling, cultivating, and developing sparsely-populated areas, such as the fringes of the Taklimakan Desert and Gurbantunggut Desert, under the principle of "not competing for benefits with the local people". It also served as a reserve force for the military in Xinjiang, although they were not called upon, since relations with the Soviet Union were good in the early years of the People's Republic. The ranks of the XPCC were also joined by many youth, both male and female, from other parts of China, to balance out its sex ratio and include members with better education backgrounds. In 1962, after the Sino-Soviet split, rioting occurred in Yining and 60,000 ethnic minorities living across the border fled to the Soviet Union. The Chinese government feared that the Soviet Union was trying to destabilize China and start a war. The XPCC was ordered to cultivate the farms of those who fled. By 1966 the XPCC had a population of 1.48 million.

The XPCC, together with many other governmental and party organizations, was severely damaged by the chaos of the Cultural Revolution. In 1975 it was abolished completely, with all of its powers transferred to the government of Xinjiang and regional authorities.

After Afghanistan had been invaded in 1979, and the Islamic mujahid movement gained force, fears of Soviet encirclement and Islamic fundamentalism lead to the reopening of the XPCC in 1981 as well as the cultivation of frontier lands and economic development.