Xi visits Tibetans and temple in western China, calls for ethnic unity

Xi urges provincial leaders to make Qinghai a national clean-energy highland, international ecotourism destination and green export base

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Chinese President Xi Jinping visits a Tibetan Buddhist temple in Xining, Qinghai province, on Tuesday. Photo: Xinhua

Hayley Wongin BeijingandWilliam Zhengin Hong Kong

Published: 2:25pm, 20 Jun 2024Updated: 5:50am, 21 Jun 2024

Chinese President Xi Jinping has issued a call for national unity at a Tibetan Buddhist heritage site as Tibet again becomes a point of contention in relations with the United States.

The Chinese leader visited a middle school for Golok Tibetans and the Tibetan Buddhist Hongjue Temple in the northwestern province of Qinghai on Tuesday, state news agency Xinhua said on Wednesday.

Both sites are in the provincial capital Xining. The historic temple has been key to Beijing’s communication with Tibetan Buddhist leaders since 1951.

Xi’s inspection was reportedly focused on local efforts to deepen education to forge “a strong sense of community for the Chinese nation” and strengthen “love for both the country and the religion” of Tibetan Buddhism, as well as education support from more developed eastern provinces.

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Xi met provincial Communist Party and government representatives on Wednesday and stressed the importance of cultivating national unity in the “province with concentrated ethnic minorities”, according to Xinhua.