Tibet sees rapid economic growth

The Tibet autonomous region has seen rapid economic growth this year, with its gross domestic product expected to reach 200 billion yuan ($32 billion), up 7 percent year-on-year, said Wang Junzheng, the region's Party secretary.

To date, the region's revenue in the general public budget has exceeded 20 billion yuan, and the per capita disposable income of urban and rural residents have increased by 13 and 14 percentages, respectively, Wang said at the region's annual economic work conference, which was held over the weekend.

The conference reviews economic activity for the current year and sets the tone for policy objectives in the next. Tibet is expected to make investments of about 160 billion yuan in key projects in 2021.

The positive economic growth also reflects on different aspects. Electrical power capacity is approaching 13 million kilowatts. The employment rate of college students is at 99 percent. And 52,000 people were employed in urban areas.

For 2022, Wang said that the region expects to see GDP growth of 8 percent, as well as per capita growth in disposable income of 8 percent for urban residents and 10 percent for rural residents.

"We will continue to boost the tourism industry in the region," Wang said. "More than 460 million tourists and tourism revenue above 50 billion yuan are expected in 2022."

He added: "We will continue to prioritize livelihood projects, including employment, education, culture, health, housing, social security, pensions, juvenile care, social rescue, safe production and pandemic control."