Contribute to stable borders, Xi tells Tibetans near Arunachal Pradesh

Chinese President Xi Jinping on Sunday called on the Tibetan residents of a village situated near the Indian border to contribute towards fostering prosperity and stability in the border areas.

"Learning that the village has undergone new changes in recent years and villagers' incomes have increased, I feel happy for you," Xi replied to a letter received from residents of Nyingchi, a prefecture-level area located close to the Arunachal Pradesh border.

China claims Arunachal Pradesh as part of South Tibet, which is firmly rejected by India.

Xi visited Nyingchi in 2021, becoming the only Chinese president to have visited the border areas of Tibet.

Xi, in his letter, voiced hope that Nyingchi residents will, under the guidance of the Communist Party's policies to develop border areas and improve people's lives, do an even better job in protecting the natural beauty of the plateau region, developing the village's tourist brand, and contributing to building a prosperous and stable border area.

In recent years, China has built a number of villages along the Tibetan border areas to ensure border security and development.

In his letter, Xi also urged the people in the Tibet Autonomous Region to uphold ethnic solidarity and create a happier and better life, the state-run Xinhua news agency reported.

During his 2021 visit to Nyingchi, Xi visited the Nyang River Bridge to inspect the ecological preservation in the basin of the Brahmaputra River, which is called Yarlung Zangbo in the Tibetan language.

Last year, China approved the construction of the world's largest dam, stated to be the planet's biggest infrastructure project, costing $137 billion, on the Brahmaputra river in Tibet, which has raised concerns in the riparian states of India and Bangladesh.