The Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps (XPCC; 新疆生产建设兵团; 新疆兵团), also known as Bingtuan ("The Corps"), trading with the external name China Xinjiang Group,[8] is a state-owned enterprise and paramilitary organization in China's Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region.
The XPCC was established in 1954 under the orders of
Mao Zedong, and developed sparsely populated areas in its early decades, taking the model of the traditional
tuntian system of setting military units in frontier areas. The XPCC was severely damaged during the
Cultural Revolution, and was outright abolished in 1975, before being re-established in 1981, partly due to the
Soviet-Afghan War. It re-established its economic dominance over Xinjiang afterwards, also being responsible for maintenance against the "
three evils" (separatism, religious extremism, and terrorism). In its history, the XPCC has built farms, towns, and cities, provided land and employment to disbanded military units, and re-settled
Han migrants from other parts of China in what has been called a campaign of
assimilation.