Xi concludes maiden trip to Tibet as Chinese President
DHARAMSALA, 23 July: Xi Jinping has secretly concluded his maiden trip to Tibet as the Chinese President.
The Chinese President has visited Lhasa, the capital of Tibet, and Nyingchi, a Tibetan town close to the Arunachal Pradesh border over 21-22 July, the Chinese state media, Xinhua reported after he concluded the visit.
The Chinese President landed at the Nyingchi Mainling Airport on Wednesday to a warm reception by “local people and officials of various ethnic groups,” and took a train to Lhasa the following day, the report said.
According to the report, Xi has visited the Nyang River Bridge, to inspect the ecological preservation in the basin of the Yarlung Zangbo River and its tributary Nyang River, a local city planning hall, a village, and a park in Nyingchi besides inspecting the locality’s city development planning, rural vitalization, and city park building efforts.
In Lhasa, the Tibetan Capital, the inspection tour saw Xi visit the Drepung Monastery, Barkhor Street, and the Potala Palace Square in Lhasa.
Xi’s last visit to Lhasa was in 2011 when he was China’s Vice President.
The visit came at a time when the border tension between India and China continues to simmer while the photos of XI’s visit released by Xinhua show him accompanied by Zhang Youxia, a vice chairman of China’s Central Military Commission and a senior general in the People’s Liberation Army.
