Southwest China's Xizang Autonomous Region has seen steady economic growth, with its regional gross domestic product (GDP) reaching 276.5 billion yuan ($38.52 billion) in 2024, 155 times that of 1965 - when the autonomous region was established. The region has also registered an average annual growth rate of 8.9 percent, and is projected to surpass 300 billion yuan in GDP this year, according to a press conference held on Tuesday in Beijing.

This year marks the 60th founding anniversary of the Xizang Autonomous Region. Wang Junzheng, secretary of the Communist Party of China Xizang Autonomous Regional Committee, introduced the economic and social development achievements of the region over the past six decades at the press conference.

In 1951, Xizang was peacefully liberated and the Xizang Autonomous Region was officially established in 1965, opening a new chapter in its history. The 60 years since its founding have been extraordinary. Under the leadership of the Communist Party of China (CPC), Xizang region has established a socialist system, advanced reform and opening-up, achieved a moderately prosperous society in all respects, and joined the nation in embarking on the path to socialist modernization, Wang said.

The region has undergone a historic transformation - from darkness to light, backwardness to progress, poverty to prosperity, autocracy to democracy, and isolation to openness. Social productivity has been greatly liberated and developed, creating a human miracle of "leaping thousands of years in just a few decades," said the official.

All-around achievements

At the conference, Wang said that in 2024, the per capita disposable income of urban residents in Xizang reached 55,444 yuan, 121 times that of 1965, with an average annual growth of 8.5 percent. The per capita disposable income of farmers and herdsmen reached 21,578 yuan, 199 times that of 1965, with an average annual growth rate of 9.4 percent.

Local fiscal revenue reached 27.7 billion yuan, 1,258 times that of 1965, with an average annual growth rate of 12.9 percent. It took Xizang 50 years to achieve its first 100 billion yuan in regional GDP, while the second 100 billion was reached in just six years, Wang said.

Xizang's infrastructure has also significantly improved, from man- and livestock-carrying to an integrated transportation system, according to local officials. As of 2024, Xizang has 124,900 kilometers of roads, 1,359 kilometers of railways and 183 international and domestic air routes. In addition, all administrative villages now have access to fiber-optic and 4G internet networks.

Over the past decades, the central government has attached great importance to the socio-economic development of Xizang, channeling talents and resources to aid the development of the region, Hu Qimu, deputy secretary-general of Forum 50 for Digital-Real Economies Integration, told the Global Times on Tuesday.

Infrastructure projects such as roads, railways and air links have boosted the region's connection with other provinces and regions, as well as the world, shipping out its agricultural produce and industrial products. These have helped integrate the autonomous region into the domestic circulation, creating value with its local produces, and bringing in tourists from home and abroad, Hu said.

During the press conference, Wang said the region is leading the nation in providing 15 years of publicly funded education from kindergarten through high school, noting that its average life expectancy has risen to 72.5 years.

"Experience shows that only under the leadership of the CPC - by firmly following the path of socialism with Chinese characteristics, upholding and improving the regional ethnic autonomy system, and implementing the Party's strategy for governing Xizang in the new era - can Xizang achieve the prosperity and progress it enjoys today and embrace an even brighter future," said Wang, noting that people should visit the region.

Since the founding of the Xizang Autonomous Region, rapid economic and social development has laid a solid foundation for advancing human rights. China's approach - promoting human rights through development - has been clearly demonstrated in Xizang, where improved public services and rising living standards have effectively enhanced rights protection, said Chang Jian, director of the Research Center for Human Rights at the Tianjin-based Nankai University.

"The all-round development in Xizang region is a practical and successful model of China's human rights philosophy in action," Chang told the Global Times on Tuesday.

Chang, who has participated in UN Human Rights Council side events and international seminars, noted that some foreigners, influenced by Western media or ideological biases, misunderstand the situation in Xizang. "However, those who have visited the region have been impressed by its remarkable economic, social, and cultural progress, freedom of religious belief, and the growing well-being of its people," he said.

Regarding reincarnation

At the Tuesday press conference, in response to an inquiry that the 14th Dalai Lama once again made remarks regarding his reincarnation, Gama Cedain, chairman of the Xizang Autonomous Region People's Government, said the reincarnation of Living Buddhas follows established religious rituals and historical conventions, and that the Dalai Lama's reincarnation has never been a matter for the Dalai Lama himself to decide.

The reincarnation of Living Buddhas follows established religious rituals and historical conventions. The Dalai Lama's historical legitimacy is rooted in the central government. The central government has the ultimate authority over matters related to the Dalai Lama's reincarnation. This is a belief firmly upheld by the majority of religious believers and is an essential part of the religious rituals and historical conventions governing the reincarnation process. There is no basis for the Dalai Lama alone to decide the matter, said the official.

The reincarnation must follow the process that consists of search and identification in China, lot-drawing from a golden urn, and central government approval, Gama Cedain said.

Chang Jian said that while China respects the freedom of religious belief, all religious practices must operate within the legal framework and align with religious rituals.

Attempts by external forces to exploit the issue of reincarnation not only violate Chinese laws but also disrupt religious order. Their purpose has nothing to do with religion or the well-being of the people in Xizang, but rather serves a political agenda aimed at undermining the region's development and splitting China, Chang said.