Strategic Positioning Creating a Beautiful Future for Tibet

　　Wang Niandong (China)

　　Distinguished guests,

　　Welcome to Tibet during its most breathtaking season and I welcome your precious advice and suggestions about Tibet’s development. I am very honored to give you a brief introduction to Tibet’s economic development.

　　Ⅰ Tibet’s economy has maintained leapfrog development, laying a solid foundation for building a moderately prosperous society in a comprehensive way.

　　With strong support from the central government, people of various ethnic groups in Tibet have made leapfrog development and lasting stability their goals, while striving to build a wealthy, harmonious, civilized, and beautiful Tibet governed by law, laying a solid foundation for the construction of a moderately prosperous society in a comprehensive way.

　　A.　　 Economic aggregates have been developing rapidly.

　　Leapfrog development is the key to solving various problems in Tibet. The Tibetan economy has maintained strong growth. Since the fifth meeting on the work of Tibet was held in 2010, the autonomous region’s total output value has increased to 80.7 billion yuan in 2013 from 50.7 billion yuan in 2010, a rise of 41 percent. Investment in fixed assets has increased to nearly 92 billion yuan from 46.3 billion yuan. Total retail sales of consumer goods has increased to 28.7 billion yuan from 18.5 billion yuan, a rise of 55 percent. And total volume of foreign trade has increased to $3.32 billion from $840 million, almost quadrupling.

　　B.　　  Infrastructure improved significantly.

　　Great efforts have been made to improve Tibet’s infrastructure and transportation system. A new energy system fueled by hydroelectric power has been established, and the Qinghai-Tibet grid connection project has been completed and is fully operational. Telecommunication infrastructure has been improved, with optical cables and satellite and toll telephone networks covering the entire autonomous region.

　　C.　　 Industries utilizing local advantages have been expanding.

　　Structure for the primary, secondary, and tertiary industries has been optimized, from 13.5:32.3:54.2 in 2010 to 10.7:36.3:53 in 2013. The comprehensive productivity of agriculture and animal husbandry has been enhanced, industries utilizing local advantages have been developing rapidly, and the service industry with tourism at its heart has taken the lead and flourished. In 2013, nearly 13 million tourists from home and abroad visited Tibet, bringing tourism revenues of 16.5 billion yuan.

　　D.　　 Accelerating improvements in standards of living.

　　With guaranteeing and improving people’s livelihood as the starting point and foothold, much effort has been made to improve basic public services. Education, science and technology, culture, healthcare, and social security programs are all moving forward. Incomes of farmers and herders have been increasing at 13 percent for four consecutive years. In 2013, the figure reached 6,578 yuan, 1.6 times that of 2010.

　　E.　　  Enhancing ecological environment protection.

　　The Tibet Ecological Security Shield Construction Plan (2008-2030) has been promulgated, methods to build a beautiful Tibet have been formulated, afforestation projects have been initiated, and a compensation and reward mechanism for protecting grassland ecology has been improving. Ecological construction and environmental and resource protection plans are seeing early success. At present, Tibet’s 47 nature reserves cover a total area of 412,200 square kilometers, accounting for 35 percent of Tibet’s total area, tops in terms of the area in the country. Tibet rejects high-polluting projects, ensuring that resources are used and developed only with the ecological environment staying protected.

　　F.　　  Economic reform has been deepening.

　　With institutional innovation as the key, Tibet has been striving to create an environment for fair competition. Reform of investment and financing systems has been accelerated. Projects supporting Tibet’s development have entered a new phase. And the autonomous region has opened to the outside world deeper and broader.