水利建设极大地改善了各族人民的生产生活条件。新疆水库数量由1949年的3座，总库容5234万立方米，发展到2014年的538座，总库容达到169.08亿立方米。2010年以来，新疆先后将农业高效节水工程、“定居兴牧”水利工程、农村饮水安全工程确定为重点民生水利工程加快建设。到2014年，示范带动全疆建成高效节水灌溉面积2770万亩，建设规模全国领先。改善灌溉面积398.49万亩，新增人工饲草料地372.08万亩，年净增精料和干草303万吨，为10.6万户牧民定居饲草料地建设提供了水源保障。农村建成大小水厂1315座，解决农村饮水不安全人口1125.63万人，占农村总人口的96%以上，有效遏制了水源污染导致的地方传染病、多发病的流行。

　　电力工业发展迅速。2010年以来，“疆电外送”哈密南—郑州±800千伏首条特高压直流外送通道投产运行，准东—华东±1100千伏线路配套电源项目全面开工建设。全区电网由110千伏到220千伏联网并到750千伏高等级电网主网架。2014年，电力装机容量已达到5464万千瓦，发电量2091亿千瓦时，“疆电外送”175亿千瓦时，输电线路总长65656公里。新能源装机容量已占全区电力总装机的20.1%，形成以火电为主，水电、风电、燃气电站、光伏电站、生物质能电站多种发电形式并存的发电格局。

Water conservancy projects have led to a great improvement in working and living conditions. Xinjiang had 538 reservoirs with a total storage capacity of 16.908 billion cu m in 2014, as compared to three with a total storage capacity of 52.34 million cu m in 1949. Since 2010, key water conservancy projects bearing on daily life have taken priority in Xinjiang; they included high-efficiency water-saving projects in agriculture, "settlement of herdsmen" water projects, and safe drinking water projects in rural areas. By 2014, high-efficiency water-saving irrigation extended to 27.7 million (1.85 million ha) of farmlands, topping the whole country. Xinjiang had improved irrigation over 3,984,900 (265,660 ha), increased the area of forage land by 3,720,800 (248,053 ha), achieved a net increase of 3.03 million tons in fine forage and hay, and provided water sources for forage lands to safeguard the settlements of 106,000 herding families. Xinjiang's rural areas had a total of 1,315 water works of different sizes, which provided safe drinking water to 11.3 million people, or over 96 percent of the rural population. This has effectively held in check the spread of local infectious and frequently occurring diseases caused by water source pollution.

The power industry is developing rapidly. The South Hami-Zhengzhou +-800 kv UHVDC Transmission Project, Xinjiang's first UHVDC transmission channel sending electricity out of Xinjiang, was put into operation in 2010, and the building of the supporting power projects of the Zhundong-Huadong +-1100 kv UHVDC Transmission Project has started. Xinjiang's 110 kv and 220 kv grids were connected to the 750 kv higher-grade trunk grid. In 2014, Xinjiang had installed power-generating capacity of 55 million kw, and produced 209 billion kwh of electricity. It sent 17.5 billion kwh to other parts of China through transmission lines totaling 65,656 km. The installed capacity using new energy made up 20 percent of the total. A pattern of power generation with thermal power as the mainstay and other forms of power like hydro power, wind power, gas power, photovoltaic power and biomass power in support, has taken shape.

　　步入现代信息化社会。通信业从60年前的“骆驼电报，驴马邮政”逐步进入到现代信息时代。互联网基本实现全覆盖。2014年，互联网宽带用户总数达到305.7万户，移动电话普及率90.8部/百人，自然村通电话率98%，行政村通宽带率97%。不断提升乌鲁木齐区域性国际通信业务出入口局地位，疏通境外10余个国家的语音和数据业务，境内疏导国际电话业务的范围覆盖全国。

　　对外开放扎实推进。1978年后，经国家批准，新疆先后开通了17个一类口岸、12个二类口岸，成功举办19届“乌鲁木齐对外经济贸易洽谈会”和4届“中国—亚欧博览会”。建立喀什、霍尔果斯两个国家级经济开发区、中国—哈萨克斯坦霍尔果斯国际边境合作中心。目前，全区已有国家级产业集聚区23个，主要贸易伙伴已扩大到186个国家和地区，一个全方位对外开放新格局已经形成。新疆外贸进出口总额由1955年的0.51亿美元提高到2014年的276.69亿美元，年均增长11.3%。2009—2014年，实际利用外资年均增长12.12%，境外承包工程营业额年均增长26.1%，对外投资年均增长25.1%。

Xinjiang has become an information society. Six decades ago telegrams and post were mainly carried by animals. Now, its communications industry has entered the modern information era. There is Internet coverage across most of the region. In 2014, broadband user numbers exceeded 3 million, and there were 91 mobile phones per 100 people. Around 98 percent of villages had phone line connections and 97 percent of administrative villages had broadband connections. Xinjiang has invested great efforts in raising the status of Urumqi as a regional inward and outward hub in international telecommunication services. Its voice and data services have cross-border connections with more than ten foreign countries, and are able to connect international call services to the whole of the country.

Solid progress has been made in opening up to the outside world. Since 1978, Xinjiang, with state approval, has created 17 first-class ports and 12 second-class ports, in addition to successfully holding 19 Urumqi Foreign Economic Relations and Trade Fairs and four China-Eurasia Expos. It has set up two national economic development zones in Kashi and Khorgos, and the International Center for Cross-Border Cooperation between China and Kazakhstan in Khorgos. Now, there are in Xinjiang 23 state-class industrial clusters. It trades with 186 countries and regions. A new pattern of all-round opening up has taken shape in the region. The value of Xinjiang's combined imports and exports grew from US$51 million in 1955 to almost US$27.7 billion in 2014, averaging an annual growth rate of 11.3 percent. Between 2009 and 2014, applied foreign investment grew at an annual rate of over 12 percent, the volumes of overseas contract business increased by an annual average of 26 percent, and investment outside China went up by an annual average of 25 percent.