The Chinese government will pay more effort to solving problems closely related to the interests of ethnic peoples and pursue a harmonious and prosperous co-existence of all nationalities, Vice Premier Hui Liangyu said in BeijingTuesday.

Ethnic regions were seeing rapid development this year, but arduous work was still ahead, needing a stronger sense of responsibility and commitment by the government, Hui said at a general assembly of the State Ethnic Affairs Commission.

More efforts should be paid in assisting ethnic groups with small populations and in dealing with the issues that concern ethnic peoples most.

Meanwhile, the legal rights of ethnic groups and the autonomous regions must be guaranteed and the development of ethnic cultures must be improved, said Hui, calling for stronger leadership by governments at all levels in ethnic work.

Source: Xinhua