A child has a good time with an ice cream vendor at the International Grand Bazaar in Urumqi, northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, July 17, 2019.Photo:Xinhua

Northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region has worked to expand channels for local residents to get employed, and there is no such a thing as an "annual target" of transferring surplus labor, a senior human resources official from Xinjiang told a press conference on Friday. 

Governments at all levels in Xinjiang are dedicated to expanding employment channels, collecting information from human resources markets or other organizations to release it to residents. People can get to know more about the work, the accommodation conditions and salaries offered by the companies before making their choices, Rehmanjan Dawut, general director of the Xinjiang Regional Department of Human Resources and Social Security, said on Friday.

Residents can make their own choice about employment, Rehmanjan said.

Local residents who are involved in the tourism business play music for tourists in the old town of Kashgar, northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, July 9, 2019.Photo:Xinhua

In response to Reuters questions about whether Xinjiang has set an annual target for transferring surplus labor, Rehmanjan said there is no such thing as an annual target. 

From 2014 to 2019, Xinjiang provided training courses to an average of 1.29 million urban and rural workers each year, including vocational training offered by colleges and enterprises to increase workers' skills. 

Vocational education and training centers are tailored for people who have been influenced by religious extremism and involved in minor violations of the law, the official said, noting that to uproot terrorism and extremism, these centers deliver a curriculum that includes standard spoken and written Chinese, understanding of the law, vocational skills, and deradicalization.

Through education and training, trainees' awareness of laws has been strengthened and they have gained an understanding of the true nature and perils of terrorism and religious extremism, the official said.