Two collections of Chinese national laws and local regulations in Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region have been published in Uygur language in the northwestern Chinese region.

The collections include 200 national laws passed between 1979 and July 2009 and 98 regional regulations and resolutions passed between 1998 and November 2009, Xinjiang lawmakers said at a launching ceremony of the collections Friday.

"Xinjiang is an area where different ethnic groups live together and has multiple local languages," said Eligen Imibakhi, chairman of the Standing Committee of the Xinjiang Regional People's Congress.

"Many minorities, especially farmers and herdsmen, do not understand the Chinese language and characters. They have to study the national laws in their own language," he said.

The publication of the two collections would contribute to the construction of democracy and legal systems in Xinjiang, he said.