Ethnic violence has been on the rise in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region (XUAR). In the short term the violence will be suppressed with the use of hard policies, characterised by a strong security presence. Soft policies, which financially incentivise the promotion of ethnic culture, and programs to improve education outcomes for minorities, will thereafter be stressed. In the long term, both policy strategies practiced by the state do not fully address the main reasons for the rise of ethnic tensions in the region. Left unattended, this will lead to increasing acts of sporadic ethnic violence in the future.