Xi Story: Decades-long paired-up assistance delivers better lives for people on 'roof of world'

LHASA -- In June 1998, Xi Jinping traveled thousands of miles from the coastal province of Fujian to the Xizang autonomous region on a special mission -- to see off a new group of Fujian officials dispatched to assist this high-altitude region, known as the "roof of the world".

As many recalled, Xi, who served as Fujian's deputy Party chief then, was the most senior provincial official to accompany paired-up assistance officials all the way to Xizang back then.

During his tightly-scheduled journey, Xi also visited the previous group of Fujian officials in Nyingchi who had been stationed at the high-altitude region for several years.

In particular, Xi put Nang county on his itinerary, even though locals tried to dissuade him from going there due to the treacherous road conditions.

"Anyone but me has the right to flinch," Xi insisted.

After arriving at the county, Xi met with Fujian officials there and asked for details about their living conditions, such as how they cooked meals and managed to keep in touch with their families. He also attended symposiums to learn about Fujian officials' assistance efforts.

"The affairs in Nyingchi are as important as those in Fujian," Xi assured locals. "The officials we dispatch here should be the best of ours."

Fujian and Nyingchi established this close partnership as part of China's unique paired-up assistance mechanism, initiated in 1994, to provide direct and consistent support to localities in Xizang from more developed provinces and regions.

Through this mechanism, officials are selected to work in Xizang for a period, bringing capital, experience and skills to help launch infrastructure, industrial, cultural and livelihood projects in the region.

In his following tenures in Zhejiang province and Shanghai city, Xi continued to attach great importance to the paired-up assistance initiatives.

In March 2013, not long after assuming the post of general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, Xi stressed the need to accelerate Xizang's leapfrog development.

China has, under his leadership, dedicated unprecedented funds and manpower to Xizang's development.

Herder Sangtso, in her 60s, is among the beneficiaries of paired-up assistance projects.

Residing in a village perched at remote Nagchu city, her family had to put up with freezingly cold winters for years. The situation changed after the CHN Energy Investment Group installed solar panels to provide heat for every household in the village in 2023.

By harnessing the region's abundant sunshine in an environmentally friendly and low-carbon way, photovoltaic heating projects like this have substantially improved the living conditions of Xizang's residents.

"My house is now warm in winter and the children don't have to worry about frostbite on their hands and feet anymore," said Sangtso.

Paired-up assistance has also enhanced the ecological conservation of Xizang, considered a key ecological security barrier for China.

In Namling, a county once stricken by constant sandstorms, a paired-up assistance team planted over 2.8 million seedlings and built a corridor of green forest and waterways stretching 100 kilometers. This has reduced sandstorms by a third and boosted the humidity rates.

Overall, since 1994, approximately 12,000 officials have been dispatched to Xizang through the paired-up assistance mechanism. Among them, Party members have formed the backbone of this mission, which has been sustained across generations.

In 2021, Xi met with officials taking part in the paired-up assistance programs when he visited Xizang for the region's 70th anniversary of peaceful liberation.

"You are on the plateau, and your spirit is higher than the plateau," Xi praised them.

Xi said the cause of aiding Xizang reflects the noble ethos of the Party and the prominent advantage of socialism with Chinese characteristics.

"It should be carried on generation after generation," he added.