Overview

• Xi completed a two-day trip to Lhasa for the Tibet Autonomous Region’s 60th anniversary, a once-a-decade event previously led by lower-ranking officials.
• He urged officials to prioritize political stability, ethnic unity, and religious harmony, calling for Tibetan Buddhism to adapt to socialist society.
• State media showcased mass celebrations in Potala Palace square, with roughly 20,000 officials and residents greeting Xi during parades and performances.
• He pressed to advance the Yarlung Tsangpo hydropower project and the Sichuan–Tibet railway, citing development and environmental goals.
• Rights groups and Tibetan exiles denounced long-standing restrictions and warned of Beijing’s bid to control the Dalai Lama’s succession, as the trip coincided with China’s top diplomat visiting India.