Yao Yu: Translating the Party's Strategy for Governing Tibet in the New Era into Concrete Practice
General Secretary Xi Jinping emphasized: "Tibet must fully implement the Party's strategy for governing Tibet in the New Era, adhere to the general principle of seeking progress while maintaining stability, implement the new development philosophy completely, accurately, and comprehensively, solidly promote high-quality development, and continue to delve deep into the four major tasks of stability, development, ecology, and border strengthening, striving to build a new modern socialist Tibet that is united, prosperous, culturally advanced, harmonious, and beautiful." This important discourse, rooted in the practice of socialism with Chinese characteristics and the reality of work in Tibet, scientifically answers a series of major questions regarding the development of Tibet, pointing the way forward for the promotion of long-term peace, stability, and high-quality development. The year 2026 marks the start of the "15th Five-Year Plan" [1]. Standing at a new historical starting point, we should further deepen our knowledge and understanding of the Party's strategy for governing Tibet in the New Era, implement it in close connection with the realities of Tibet, continue to manage the four major tasks of stability, development, ecology, and border strengthening, effectively forge a strong sense of community for the Chinese nation, and constantly break new ground in Tibet-related work.
Deeply Understanding the Party's Strategy for Governing Tibet in the New Era
The Party’s strategy for governing Tibet in the New Era is the concentrated expression of Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era regarding Tibet-related work; it is the fundamental follow-through for performing such work well. At the Seventh Central Symposium on Tibet Work, General Secretary Xi Jinping used the "Ten Musts" [2] to highly encapsulate this strategy. Among these, the important principles—that we must persist in governing Tibet according to the law, enriching the people and revitalizing Tibet, developing Tibet over the long term, coalescing the hearts of the people, and consolidating the foundation—highly condense the successful experience of our Party in governing, stabilizing, and revitalizing Tibet over a long period. These have been proven by practice to align with our national conditions, the realities of Tibet, and the fundamental interests of the various ethnic groups in Tibet. They relate to top-level design while pulling forward concrete practice, possessing strong ideological and theoretical qualities as well as high levels of guidance, relevance, and operability.
Governing Tibet according to the law is the specific manifestation of comprehensively advancing the sub-national application of the rule of law in Tibet and is the important guarantee for doing Tibet-related work well. Work in Tibet involves many aspects and faces various complex problems; all work must be brought into the orbit of the rule of law, using the law to guarantee ethnic unity, social stability, and religious harmony.
Enriching the people and revitalizing Tibet requires taking the improvement of the welfare of the masses of all ethnic groups as the basic starting point and ultimate goal of revitalizing the region; this is the important task and objective of Tibet-related work. Development is the basis and key to solving all problems in Tibet. Only through high-quality development, promoting an effective improvement in the quality of the economy and reasonable growth in quantity, promoting overall social progress, and allowing the masses of all ethnic groups to share the fruits of reform and development, can a solid material foundation be laid for the long-term peace and stability of Tibet.
Developing Tibet over the long term means adhering to a policy of cautious and steady progress, reflecting the strategic resolve required for Tibet-related work. Doing Tibet-related work well concerns the overall situation; it requires the breadth of mind to believe that "success does not have to stay with me" [3], working batch after batch, avoiding eagerness for quick success and short-term behavior. All work must be planned for the long term, and all measures must be sustainable.
Coalescing the hearts of the people emphasizes combining material and spiritual forces to consolidate the spiritual and cultural foundation of Tibet's development. Whether developing the economy or improving people's livelihoods, the ultimate goal is to unite the masses of all ethnic groups in Tibet and coalesce their hearts and strength around achieving the "Two Centenary Goals" [4] and the Chinese Dream of the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation, building a shared spiritual home for the Chinese nation.
Consolidating the foundation means treating both symptoms and root causes while focusing on the latter; it is the policy for strengthening the roots of Tibet-related work. If the foundation is not firm, the earth will shake and the mountains will sway [5]. We must persist in the Party's overall leadership, strengthen the building of primary-level organizations, and do more work that lays foundations and benefits the long term, ensuring goals and tasks are truly implemented.
In general, governing Tibet according to the law provides the institutional guarantee for the orderly development of Tibet-related work; enriching the people and revitalizing Tibet points out the purpose of the work; developing Tibet over the long term highlights the continuity of the task cycle; coalescing the hearts of the people clarifies the direction of work in the New Era; and consolidating the foundation requires strengthening the roots. These five aspects are interlinked and constitute a complete system, providing a methodology for Tibet-related work.
Implementation Has Yielded Obvious Results
In recent years, the Tibet Autonomous Region has comprehensively implemented General Secretary Xi Jinping's important discourses on Tibet-related work. By closely integrating with local realities and unswervingly practicing the Party's strategy for governing Tibet in the New Era, it has strived to build a new modern socialist Tibet. Various undertakings have achieved all-round progress and historical achievements. In particular, by continuing to focus on the four major tasks of stability, development, ecology, and border strengthening, the region has actively created a National Model Area for Ethnic Unity and Progress, a Pilot Area for High-Quality Development of the Plateau Economy, a National Ecological Civilization Highland, and a National Demonstration Area for Border Consolidation, Vitalization, and People-Enrichment Actions. The socioeconomic landscape has undergone tremendous changes.
The social situation has continued to stabilize and improve. Governing Tibet according to the law is the premise and foundation for maintaining stability. Since the New Era began, Tibet has constructed a scientific social governance system, coordinating the security of key areas such as politics, society, finance, and production, effectively preventing and resolving various risks. The masses' sense of security and satisfaction has exceeded 99% for many consecutive years. Under the guarantee of the rule of law, work on creating ethnic unity and progress has advanced solidly. To date, all 7 cities (prefectures) have been established as National Demonstration Cities (Prefectures) for Ethnic Unity and Progress, and 38 counties (districts/cities) have been established as National Demonstration Counties (Districts/Cities) for Ethnic Unity and Progress.
The quality of economic development has significantly improved. In 2025, the GDP of the Tibet Autonomous Region reached 303.189 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 7.0% based on constant prices; the growth rate has been among the highest in the country for four consecutive quarters. The per capita disposable income of urban residents was 58,794 yuan, reaching 104.1% of the national average; for rural residents, it was 23,184 yuan, close to 95% of the national average. Simultaneously, the region persists in taking the improvement of people's livelihoods and the coalescing of hearts as the starting and ending point of all work. Since the "14th Five-Year Plan" [6], a total of 6.115 billion yuan in development funds for ethnic minorities has been invested, implementing 1,543 projects such as border revitalization, characteristic industries, and skills training. Transportation infrastructure has achieved a historical leap. By the end of 2025, the total mileage of highways in Tibet reached 125,200 kilometers, with the accessibility rate of townships and administrative villages reaching 100% and 92.48% respectively, and the operational mileage of railways reaching 1,359 kilometers.
Ecological protection and restoration results are prominent. Developing Tibet over the long term requires viewing Tibet-related work with a long-term historical perspective; ecological protection and restoration in Tibet are concrete manifestations of this. The Qinghai-Tibet Plateau is the "Roof of the World" and the "Water Tower of Asia." Protecting its ecological environment is the greatest contribution not only to Tibet itself but also to the survival and development of the Chinese nation. Tibet has included more than 50% of its land area within ecological protection redlines. In 2025, the proportion of days with good air quality remained above 99%, and 100% of the water quality in major rivers and lakes met standards, making it one of the regions with the best ecological environment in the world. The "Lhasa North and South Mountains Greening Project," a major ecological restoration project, has completed a cumulative afforestation area of 1.1087 million mu [7], with over 125 million seedlings planted and an overall survival rate stable at over 85%. This has significantly improved the environment around Lhasa and increased the ecological welfare of the people. In Lhünzê County, Shannan City, the masses have taken turns planting sea buckthorn for 60 years, building a "Green Great Wall" over 40 kilometers long. These efforts are vivid portrayals of the persistence in developing Tibet over the long term within the ecological field.
Border strengthening work has progressed orderly. Only with a country can there be a home; without peace on the borders, there can be no peace for ten thousand families. Robust border defense is inseparable from the gathering of people and economic development in border areas. Tibet has continued to increase investment in infrastructure construction in border regions, changing their closed and backward appearance. For example, Yumai Township in Shannan City has evolved from a "three-person township" into a border model village for moderate prosperity. All administrative villages have achieved full 5G network coverage, and children enjoy high-quality teaching resources through online education. Meanwhile, based on the resource endowments of border areas, characteristic advantageous industries have been meticulously cultivated, allowing border residents to increase their income through development.
Forging a Strong Sense of Community for the Chinese Nation
General Secretary Xi Jinping emphasized: "It is necessary to further forge a strong sense of community for the Chinese nation, promote the building of the community for the Chinese nation, and strengthen publicity and education on the history of the Party, the history of New China, the history of reform and opening up, the history of socialist development, and the history of the development of the Chinese nation." The reason forging a strong sense of community for the Chinese nation has been established as the main line of the Party's ethnic work in the New Era—and the main line for all work in ethnic regions—is that the sense of community for the Chinese nation is the root of ethnic unity, the emotional bond for national identity and ethnic integration, and the ideological foundation for national unity. Forging this sense is the source of strength for the continued and sustainable development of the Chinese nation. Specifically in the Tibet region, whether it is stability, development, ecology, or border strengthening, all must enhance the sense of belonging and identity that the masses of all ethnic groups feel toward the big family of the Chinese nation. History proves that only within this family can the people of all ethnic groups in Tibet attain happiness.
Managing the four major tasks of stability, development, ecology, and border strengthening is the concrete practice of forging a strong sense of community for the Chinese nation. Continuous social stability work creates the premise for interaction, exchange, and integration among different ethnic groups. High-quality development allows all ethnic groups to share the fruits of reform, consolidating the foundation for the sense of community at the material level. Protecting the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau is itself a contribution to the community for the Chinese nation. On the front line of the border, patriotic border defense is a direct manifestation of this sense of community.
Combining practice, experience can be summarized and exploration strengthened in the following areas. First, adhere to the law as the key link [8] and improve institutional guarantees. Issue relevant regulations, deepen education on ethnic unity and progress, and incorporate the forging of a sense of community for the Chinese nation into the entire process of national education, cadre education, and social education. Second, adhere to the principle of "cultivating people through culture" [9] to build a shared spiritual home. Highlight cultural construction, adhere to the fine tradition of keeping cultural services close to the lives of the masses in agricultural and pastoral areas, and actively promote the main theme of ethnic unity and progress. Use new technologies and forms to continuously tap into the contemporary value of the "Old Tibet Spirit" and the "Two Roads Spirit" [10], spreading the stories of the struggles of Tibet’s builders and allowing people across the country to draw spiritual inspiration from plateau cultural works. Third, adhere to the principle of "coalescing strength through the heart" to promote all-round embedding. Integrate the forging of a sense of community for the Chinese nation into all aspects of social interaction. Through normalized and everyday exchanges, subtly promote understanding and affection among the masses of various ethnic groups, gradually realizing all-round integration from spatial inter-embedding to spiritual resonance. Fourth, adhere to using the "common cause" to promote unity and achieve long-term peace and stability. Use the shared pursuit of the cause of socialist modernization to coalesce hearts, taking various measures to integrate the local masses of all ethnic groups into local economic construction work, sharing opportunities for economic development, and allowing them to obtain tangible benefits through development.