Chinese flag at the Potala Palace in Lhasa, Tibet Autonomous Region, China. (Reuters)
Beijing:
China is planning a push of more than 1 trillion yuan ($ 146 billion) to accelerate investment in infrastructure in Tibet, including new and previously announced projects, said three sources familiar with the matter.
Renewed momentum to accelerate development in the remote and impoverished Southwest region indicates Beijing’s intention to tighten border security amid intense border tensions with India in recent months, two of the sources said.
Last week, during a high-level meeting of the Communist Party on the future government of Tibet, Chinese President Xi Jinping praised achievements and praised front-line officials, but said more efforts are needed to enrich, rejuvenate and strengthen unity in the region.
He said that several major infrastructure and public facilities projects will be completed, including the Sichuan-Tibet railway, according to comments published by the official Xinhua news agency.
Construction plans include the completion of the challenging central section of a high-rise railway link between Sichuan and Tibet, a railway line between Nepal and Tibet that has remained in the planning stages, and a recently planned dry port in the Autonomous Region of Tibet. Tibet, according to sources. said.
The sources declined to be identified because they were not authorized to speak to the media.
It was not immediately clear how much of the target spending is new or over how many years it would be invested.
China’s State Council Information Office and the Tibet regional government did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Construction of the most difficult section of the Sichuan-Tibet railway, which links Chengdu with Lhasa, will begin in the coming weeks, two of the sources said.
The 270 billion yuan section of the railway has been known for the construction challenges posed by rugged terrain and complex geology, particularly the segment linking Sichuan’s Ya’an City with Nyingchi in southeastern Tibet near from the border with India.
Beijing also wants to go ahead with the Tibet-Nepal railway linking Kathmandu with Shigatse, Tibet’s second-largest city, which was among a series of bilateral agreements signed in 2018 between Nepal and China, but has yet to gain much traction.
Nepal is a buffer between China and India and is seen by New Delhi as its natural ally, but China has made progress by investing aid and investment in infrastructure in one of the poorest countries in the world.
A clash in June on the China-India border was the worst violence between the two nations in decades, and there is little sign of easing the tension, with more actions by the military last week.
RAIL ACCESS
Beijing has long tried to build a high-speed rail network to make Tibet more accessible from China’s inland provinces, and plans to upgrade or extend railways that are being planned or built that connect it to other parts of China. said two of the sources.
Last month, China announced plans to expand the country’s rail network by a third over the next 15 years.
Within Tibet, planned spending covers the renovation and expansion of highways, roads and scenic spots, two of the sources said.
Beijing sent troops to Tibet in 1950 in what it officially calls a peaceful liberation and maintains a strong security presence in the region, which has been prone to unrest.
China rejects criticism from human rights groups and Tibetan exiles of its government there, saying it has brought much-needed development to a remote region and that it respects the culture and religion of Tibet.
China’s policies toward Tibet have returned to the spotlight this year amid worsening ties with the United States.
In July, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said the United States would restrict visas for some Chinese officials involved in blocking diplomatic access to Tibet and engaging in “human rights abuses.”
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