Children in Wushi county, Aksu prefecture of Northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region Photo: VCG

Kurban Niyaz is the principal of a primary school in Wushi county, Aksu prefecture of Northwest China's Xinjiang. For almost 20 years, he has taught students putonghua and promoted traditional Chinese culture in this  remote border region, changing the lives of many children.

"Through the deeds of Principal Kurban, we have witnessed how important it is for schools and teachers to educate and foster children to become talents in the work of building the country," Xiong Kunxin, a professor at the Minzu University of China based in Beijing, told the Global Times on Saturday.

Mastering putonghua is extremely important for children of different ethnic groups in the country, Xiong said. "Knowing and understanding the excellent traditional culture of the Chinese nation would strengthen their national identity," Xiong said.

"Therefore, they are able to be more pluralistic in thought, integrating with the country, and thus strengthening their sense of community toward the Chinese nation," Xiong noted.

China is a unified nation of many ethnic groups. Only when all ethnic groups live in unity and harmony can there be a prosperous country, a stable society and a happy people, Xi Jinping, general secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC), President of the People's Republic of China and Chairman of the Central Military Commission, said at the Fifth Session of the 13th National People's Congress in March, according to the Xinhua News Agency.

Without ethnic unity and harmony, the country would decline, society would be destabilized and the people would suffer. The CPC Central Committee has made fostering a strong sense of community for the Chinese nation the main task in its work related to ethnic affairs in the new era, Xi said.

It is a major decision made to maintain the great unity of the Chinese nation and to realize the Chinese Dream of national rejuvenation. It is also an important conclusion drawn from a thorough review of the historical experience and lessons, Xi said, according to Xinhua.

By fostering ethnic unity and forging a strong sense of community for the Chinese nation, people of all 56 ethnic groups, led by the CPC, can provide enormous strength to achieve national rejuvenation, analysts said.

Under the leadership of the CPC, all 56 ethnic groups have shaken off absolute poverty and now enjoy a moderately prosperous society in all respects.

In Northwest China's Xinjiang, people have accomplished historic development achievements, and their senses of progress, happiness, and security have considerably improved. The region has transformed from a relatively closed inland region to a frontier of opening up.