Xi makes 1st visit to Tibetan town bordering Arunachal Pradesh

Beijing: Chinese President Xi Jinping has made a rare visit to Nyingchi, a strategically located border town close to Arunachal Pradesh, during his first visit to the politically sensitive region of Tibet where he underlined the need for "lasting stability" and "high-quality development" for the plateau region.

Xi was in Tibet from Wednesday, but his important visit was kept under wraps by China's official media till the end of the trip on Friday due to the sensitivities of the trip.

On Wednesday Xi flew directly to Nyingchi not far from the Indian border after visiting several places in the city. Later he travelled to Tibet's capital Lhasa by the recently commissioned high-speed bullet train.

According to state-run Xinhua news agency, Xi visited the Tibet Autonomous Region in connection with the 70th anniversary of Tibet's "peaceful liberation the first time in the history of the Party and the country."

During his visit, Xi stressed fully implementing the guidelines of the ruling Communist Party of China for "governing Tibet in a new era and writing a new chapter of lasting stability and high-quality development for the plateau region", the report said. China is accused of suppressing cultural and religious freedom in the remote and mainly Buddhist Himalayan region. China has rejected the accusations.

In footage released by state broadcaster CCTV, Xi, 68, was seen greeting a crowd wearing ethnic costumes and waving the Chinese flag as he disembarked from his plane at the Mainling Airport in Nyingchi.