The Potala Palace in Southwest China's Xizang Autonomous Region Photos on this page: Chen Xi/GT

China's two major frontier regions - Xizang and Xinjiang - both delivered steady and improving economic performance in 2025, with Xizang standing out as growth rates in eight key indicators ranked first nationwide, while Xinjiang also reported solid expansion in output, trade and household incomes, according to official data.

Latest figures show that China's border regions are consolidating growth momentum while ensuring that development outcomes benefit people's livelihoods, highlighting the effectiveness of policies aimed at coordinated regional development, social stability and high-quality, sustainable growth, analysts said.

In 2025, Southwest China's Xizang Autonomous Region topped the country in growth rates for eight major indicators, ranging from gross domestic product (GDP), value-added industrial output above designated size, fixed-asset investment, general public budget revenue and expenditure to per capita disposable income of residents, figures released by the regional government showed.

Xizang's regional GDP reached 303.189 billion yuan ($42.4 billion) in 2025, surpassing the 300-billion-yuan mark for the first time. Calculated at constant prices, GDP grew 7.0 percent year on year, with the growth rate ranking among the nation's top performers for four consecutive quarters.

Economic expansion was supported by coordinated growth across all three sectors, pointing to continued structural optimization. The primary and secondary industries recorded faster growths, with added value rising 12.1 percent and 9.6 percent respectively, while the services sector maintained steady expansion at 4.7 percent, contributing to a more balanced growth profile.

Investment continued to expand steadily throughout the year. Fixed-asset investment in Xizang grew 17.2 percent year on year in 2025, with the growth rate accelerating by 0.8 percentage points compared with the January-November period, indicating sustained momentum in effective investment.

Consumption also maintained stable growth. Supported by a series of measures to boost consumption and the orderly rollout of consumer goods trade-in programs, total retail sales of consumer goods reached 107.854 billion yuan, up 4.4 percent year on year.

Income growth emerged as a key highlight of the region's economic performance in 2025, with residents' incomes rising at the fastest pace nationwide. Per capita disposable income of all residents increased 7.2 percent year on year to 33,600 yuan. Urban residents' incomes grew 6 percent, while rural residents saw faster growth of 7.4 percent, underscoring continued progress in narrowing the urban-rural income gap.

This reflects the concrete results of inclusive development policies, with economic gains increasingly translating into real improvements in people's livelihoods, according to the regional government.

The region's external trade also recorded robust expansion. According to data released by Lhasa Customs, Xizang's total goods trade reached 8.479 billion yuan in 2025, exceeding the 6-billion-yuan incremental target set under the 14th Five-Year Plan (2021-25).

Among the highlights, private enterprises remained the backbone of foreign trade, accounting for 85.7 percent of the total, while foreign-invested enterprises posted particularly strong growth. Their combined imports and exports surged to 613 million yuan, up 65-fold year on year, official data showed.

The tourism sector maintained steady recovery momentum in 2025, with Xizang receiving 70.73 million tourist visits, up 10.7 percent year on year. Tourism revenue rose 9.5 percent over the same period, China Central Television reported on Tuesday.

A similar pattern of steady expansion and improving livelihoods was also evident in Northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region. Data released by local authorities on Tuesday show that the region recorded GDP growth of 5.5 percent in 2025, alongside a 19.9 percent increase in total imports and exports

Income growth in Xinjiang remained steady in 2025, with rural incomes outpacing those of urban residents. Rural per capita disposable income surpassed 20,000 yuan for the first time, while urban incomes rose 5.3 percent year on year.

The Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region government said that the region has set its 2026 economic and social development targets at GDP growth of 5.5 percent to 6 percent, around 10 percent growth in total imports and exports, and per capita disposable income growth of about 7 percent for urban residents and about 8 percent for rural residents.

Global Times