Overview

• Xi became the first Chinese leader to attend the founding-anniversary events in Lhasa while serving as party chief, president and military chairman, marking his second presidential trip to Tibet after 2021.
• A state-organized rally and parade at Potala Palace Square drew about 20,000 people, featuring floats, dance troupes and formations of troops, according to state media.
• Xi told regional officials to prioritize political and social stability, ethnic unity and religious harmony, and to guide Tibetan Buddhism to adapt to socialist society.
• He called for advancing the Yarlung Tsangpo hydropower project and the Sichuan–Tibet railway, while official messaging touted infrastructure gains and poverty reduction in the region.
• Rights groups and exiled Tibetans condemned repression and restrictions in Tibet as the visit coincided with China’s top diplomat engaging India and as the dispute over the Dalai Lama’s succession looms.