China on Tuesday kicked off training for 540 officials selected from western China and ethnic minority areas for a duty exchange program in 2012.

After the three-day training, 244 local officials from 16 western provinces and the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region will take temporary posts in 88 central government organs or key state-run enterprises, according to a statement from the Organization Department of the Communist Party of China Central Committee.

The remaining 296 trainees will be sent to comparable developed areas to assume relevant posts, according to the statement.

The program, initiated in 1990, is an important move for promoting exchange and mutual learning among officials from the eastern, central and western parts of China and enhancing leadership construction in the less-developed western regions and ethnic minority areas, according to the statement.

The maneuver has contributed greatly to the economic and social development of western China and ethnic minority areas, the statement said.

A total of 5,915 officials, including 3,172 ethnic officials, have participated in the program since 1990, according to the statement.

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