China's major pasturelands are all located in areas inhabited by the ethnic minorities, and animal husbandry has been the basic industry for most or part of the Mongolians, Tibetans, Kazaks and a dozen other ethnic minorities since ancient times. Since 1953 a milder taxation policy than in cities and farming areas has been enforced in the pasturelands, in addition to policies encouraging pasture protection and the settlement of nomadic people. After China began its reform and opening-up, the state adopted policies that allowed households to own livestock and contract pastures for independent operation. At a national work conference for pastoral areas held in 1987 the State Council listed 27 poverty-stricken pastureland counties as eligible for state assistance, and granted poverty-relief loans with discounted interest to support the pasturelands. To ensure the balanced development of animal husbandry and agriculture, in 1999 the Chinese government stressed that equal emphasis should be placed on grassland construction and farmland capital construction. In 2005 the state abolished taxes on agriculture and animal husbandry. After decades of unremitting endeavors, the minority areas have grown into important production bases of agricultural and animal products. Inner Mongolia now produces one fifth of the nation's total milk, ranking first in China in milk production, and Xinjiang is the country's second-biggest producer of wool and cashmere.
Most of China's borderlands are inhabited by ethnic minorities. In 1979 the state worked out the Borderlands Construction Plan (Draft), allocating 40 billion yuan for the construction of these areas over eight years. In 1992 China implemented its frontier opening-up strategy, designating 13 open cities and 241 first-grade open ports, and establishing 14 border economic and technological cooperation zones. In 1996 the State Council worked out preferential policies for promoting border trade and economic cooperation with other countries. In 1999 the state initiated a program to boost the borderlands' economy and help the local residents raise their incomes. This was followed by the formulation and execution of the 11th Five-year Plan for the Economic Development of the Borderlands, starting in 2005. In 2009the government decided to expand the program to all frontier counties and the frontier farms under the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps. So far, the central government has invested 1.446 billion yuan and built more than 20,000 projects in the borderlands.
For decades the state has paid steady attention to the construction and protection of ecological environment in the minority areas. Especially since the launch of the "Develop the West" campaign, a series of policies and measures have been executed, including prohibiting tree felling on the upper reaches of major rivers, returning farmlands to forests and grasslands and closing hillsides for afforestation. As compensation, the state has distributed grain to farmers and herdsmen to make up for their losses in returning their farmlands to forests or grasslands, and subsidies to places where revenue has shrunk because of the restriction on tree felling.
In recent years, the Chinese government has increased its support for the sparsely-populated minority areas with poor conditions. In 2005 it formulated and implemented the Program to Support the Ethnic Minorities with Small Populations (2005-2010), and listed 640 ethnic-minority villages as recipients of assistance. So far, 1.253 billion yuan has been forthcoming for these areas from the central government.
