URUMQI - The textile and garment industry in the northwestern Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region will receive a boost as China passes preferential policies, a government official told Xinhua on Friday.

Gao Fu, deputy head in charge of the consumer goods industries under the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT), said they are drafting guidelines with the National Development and Reform Commission to steer the two sectors by making use of abundant resources in the landlocked region.

The guidelines aim to bring local cotton manufacturing to top levels in the country and scale up clothes businesses by 2020, generating up to 600,000 jobs.

Xinjiang is home to top-quality cotton, but industry is largely hampered by high labor costs, a dearth of talent and a well-supplied market.

The government will pump extra funds and issue preferential policies to help lift the sectors there, Gao said.

"We will also introduce companies with advanced technology to the region, encourage the development of local companies, and assist Xinjiang in opening up the overseas market," said Gao.

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