The State Council approved upgrading the Xinjiang Changji national agricultural science and technology park into a national agricultural high-tech industry demonstration zone, in a circular issued on April 28.

The demonstration zone covers an area of 109.95 square kilometers, whose boundary coordinates will be published by the Ministry of Science and Technology and the Ministry of Natural Resources.

It will carry out innovation-oriented development and rural revitalization strategies, and focus on oasis agriculture in the arid desert area, with cotton as the leading industry, striving to become a highland of cotton-related science and technology innovation with international influence.

The zone should explore and demonstrate technological innovation in the whole cotton industry chain, agricultural biological breeding, high-quality development of oasis agriculture, and deep integration of primary, secondary and tertiary industries, to create experiences that can be copied and promoted, according to the circular.

The demonstration zone must abide by territorial-space planning, and strictly implement the regulations on farmland protection, and economical and intensive use of land, as well as compensation and resettlement, the circular said.