Forum highlights resounding success of Tibet's development

BEIJING,July 19,2023 -- This is a report from China Daily:

Hailing from home and abroad,participants attending a forum on the development of Tibet held in late May lauded the achievements made on all fronts in the Tibet autonomous region in Southwest China.

This photo taken in May shows the Lhalu wetland in Lhasa,with the Potala Palace as the backdrop. Tibet autonomous region has impressed people from home and abroad with its pristine ecological environment and colorful ethnic culture. Jiang Fan / Xinhua

Officially called the 2023 Forum on the Development of Xizang,China,the event opened on May 23 in Beijing and focused on Tibet's new chapter in high-quality development. Xizang is the name of Tibet in Chinese.

The forum also acted as a means to pool together wisdom for the continued development of the autonomous region.

The one-day event brought together more than 150 officials and experts in various fields and representatives of enterprises and media organizations from home and abroad.

Australian Sinologist Colin Macherras lauded Tibet's development over the past decades,citing his experience gained during visits to Tibet.

He said that Tibet has eliminated absolute poverty,and its infrastructure and living standards have improved dramatically.

The achievements of poverty alleviation in the Tibet autonomous region have been widely praised at the forum.

Tibet used to be the only provincial-level contiguous poverty-stricken region in China. It had accomplished the historic feat of eradicating absolute poverty by the end of 2019,with 628,000 people lifted out of poverty.

The regional GDP reached 213.3 billion yuan ($29.74 billion) in 2022,representing a giant leap from the 1959 figure of a mere 174 million yuan,according to official data.

Prior to the forum,foreign participants were invited to tour the cities of Lhasa and Nyingchi in Tibet,visiting places including villages,schools and communities.

Describing the achievements in Tibet as a feat that "almost nobody in the world could achieve in only a few decades",Guibe Guillaume,a French employee of China Petroleum & Chemical Corp,said he is impressed by the high-quality development of infrastructure during his first trip in the region.

"At an altitude of 5,200 meters,I could get my emails and chat on my mobile phone," Guillaume said.

Maria Gustava,Mozambique's ambassador to China,said that the practical experience of Tibet in poverty alleviation and rural development proved that effective and holistic planning is needed to realize poverty reduction.

Tibet's success in alleviating rural poverty through leveraging technology-led farming methods constitutes a source of inspiration for developing countries like Mozambique in their efforts to fight poverty and promote sustainable development,Gustava said.