Illustration: Liu Rui/GT

Building a modern socialist new Xizang cannot be achieved without tailored policy support. Since the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China (CPC), national support to Xizang region's development has been guided by the overarching principle of fostering a strong sense of community for the Chinese nation, achieving remarkable results and accumulating valuable experience.

In terms of national support principles, four distinctive features stand out: First, it promotes ethnic interaction, exchange and integration through education, exchange of activities and cross-region employment support. Second, it improves people's livelihoods by addressing urgent public needs and coordinating the country's poverty alleviation task so as to achieve rural revitalization. Third, it develops distinctive and competitive industries with sound planning, ecological protection and market expansion. Fourth, it boosts development and wellbeing in border areas and enriches the lives of the local people.

Guided by well-defined national support principles, partner regions have intensified support through innovative approaches and targeted measures. The most acclaimed and widely adopted model is the group-based support mechanism. Since 2015, China has pioneered this approach in healthcare and education, effectively addressing key medical and educational needs of people of all ethnic groups in Xizang region. In the medical sector, medical treatment for more than 400 serious diseases is now available within Xizang, and for over 2,400 common diseases at the prefectural and municipal levels. In education, the share of residents with a college education per 100,000 people rose from 5,507 in 2010 to 11,019 in 2020 and has continued to climb since.

Ethnic interaction, exchange and integration run through the entire process of various support programs. Since the 18th CPC National Congress, central government organizations, partner provinces and municipalities, and central state-owned enterprises have sent nearly 7,000 professionals to Xizang, with over 9,500 support projects implemented. These professionals serve as bridges connecting people in Xizang with the rest of the country. Support programs have enabled people of ethnic minority groups in Xizang to study, work and start businesses in central and eastern China, further deepening ethnic integration.

Support programs vigorously boost the development of Xizang's distinctive and competitive industries. It has strengthened the industrial base, upgraded traditional sectors and connected the region with domestic and international markets. The CRRC Shannan clean energy equipment production line in Zhanang county is the region's first clean energy equipment industrial project. With a projected annual output value of over 3 billion yuan ($434,062,000) after full operation, it fills a gap in Xizang's modern industrial development. The Shandong support team helped Namling county of Xigaze city introduce the "Aima Potato" variety, increasing local income by over 130 million yuan and driving the transformation and upgrading of traditional industries. 

Support to Xizang also puts people's well-being at the heart. By identifying public needs through consultation, efforts have targeted the most pressing daily concerns of local residents. In Lhasa, Jiangsu's support program launched the "Gesang Flower Blooms · Small Livelihood Projects" for residents in Mozhugongka county, building 100 footbridges to improve micro-transportation for 50,000 farming and herding households. In Changdu, Tianjin's support team has trained more than 6,000 local technicians since 2012 through projects including the Awang Sheep Breeding Base and Dingqing Vegetable Planting Base. In Naqu, Liaoning's support team supported the construction of over 2,800 new housing units, guaranteeing safe, decent housing, as well as clean drinking water and reliable electricity for people lifted out of poverty.

Centered on forging a strong sense of community for the Chinese nation, the national support for Xizang region's development has formed a closed-loop implementation system spanning ideology, policy and practice, delivering all-round outcomes. Upholding the people-centered philosophy and taking high-quality development as the core task, these support initiatives have unlocked their full effectiveness. 

On March 28, 1959, the CPC led the people in Xizang to launch the democratic reform, abolishing the region's feudal serfdom under theocracy and liberating the serfs in Xizang, marking a historic leap in its social system. Going forward, the support work will be promoted in a more solid, targeted and efficient manner, and China will present to the world a new model of support featuring precision, coordination and long-term sustainability.

The author is a professor of the School of Ethnology and Sociology, Yunnan University and a research fellow at the Center for Tibetan Studies of Sichuan University. opinion@globaltimes.com.cn