The National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) plans to earmark 1 billion yuan (131.6 million U.S. dollars) to help build infrastructure in areas inhabited by ethnic minorities during China's 11th "Five-Year" Plan period.

The Ministry of Finance will also allocate more than 1 billion yuan to improve the living conditions of ethnic groups and increase their incomes over the 2006-2010 period, according to the State Ethnic Affairs Commission (SEAC) on Friday.

The commission allocated 200 million yuan (about 25.4 million dollars), while the ministry allocated 162 million yuan (21.3 million dollars) supporting ethnic areas in 2006, said a SEAC official.

During the 10th "Five-Year" Plan (2001-2005) period, the NDRC invested 4.8 billion yuan (600 million dollars) to help 1 million needy ethnic people move from remote and backward areas to new homes.

China has nearly 3 mln cadres from ethnic minorities

China currently has 2.915 million cadres from different ethic minorities, accounting for 7.4 percent of the country's cadre total, up 2.6 percent from 2000, according to the State Ethnic Affairs Commission (SEAC).

China benefits enterprises engaged in ethnic trade with tax reduction

Enterprises engaged in ethnic minority trade, at the county-level or above, were given tax rebates worth 1.2 billion yuan (157.9 million U.S. dollars) during China's 10th "Five-Year" Plan period (2001-2005).

One mln ancient ethnic books collected to rescue ethnic cultures

China has collected more than a million ancient ethnic books and published more than 5,000 of them during the 10th "Five-Year" Plan period (2001-2005).

China to enact national regulation on management of Muslim food

China will enact a national regulation on the management of Muslim foods to guarantee the protection of customs of the Islamic ethnic minorities, according to the State Ethnic Affairs Commission (SEAC).