Shou Xiaoli:
Due to time constraints, we will have one last question.
China News Service:
What comparative advantages does Xizang have in the new pattern of high-quality development? What are the future considerations and plans? Thank you.
Yan Jinhai:
I'll answer the questions. Concerning the comparative strengths of Xizang, we can quote General Secretary Xi Jinping. In September 2021, during his visit to Haojiaqiao village, Suide county, Yulin city of Shaanxi province, General Secretary Xi Jinping said that to ensure people living in mountainous areas get rich and live a better life, we must rely on good policies, people's efforts, and local resources. Xizang is located on a snow-covered plateau and is large but sparsely populated, with high mountains and deep ravines. Its population density is less than three people per square kilometer. All the achievements we have so far made in high-quality development depend on good policies, people's efforts, and local resources, which are also the key to continuing to achieve high-quality development.
Our political and policy strengths are self-evident. I will just talk about Xizang's advantages in clean energy. First, Lhasa is known as the city of sunshine, with 3,500 hours of sunshine per year. Xizang's technically exploitable solar power resources are equal to 9.8 billion kilowatts, with hydropower resources at 170 million kilowatts and wind energy resources at 180 million kilowatts. Excluding geothermal energy and pumped storage hydropower, Xizang's total installed capacity exceeds 10 billion kilowatts, all of which is clean energy. Just now, my colleagues have made comprehensive presentations of Xizang's tourism resources as well as the agriculture and animal husbandry with plateau characteristics. Anything that can be grown and raised in Xizang will have the best quality in the world. These are our comparative advantages. In the 1980s, Comrade Deng Xiaoping once said that Xizang has a vast land, a small population, and rich resources, and that it can take the lead in achieving modernization as long as it chooses the right path. We also have strengths in population. Xizang is the least populous among 31 province-level administrative regions, with a population of 3.65 million last year. Based on the current natural population growth rate of 8.7‰, the total population of Xizang will be only 4.2 million by 2035. By developing our advantageous resources, it is entirely possible for Xizang to rank among the top in the nation in terms of per capita income by 2035. Under the leadership of the CPC Central Committee, we are confident and determined to lead the people of Xizang to a better and happier life. Thank you.
Shou Xiaoli:
Thank you to Mr. Yan and all other the speakers. Thank you to our media friends for your participation. Today's briefing is hereby concluded. Goodbye, everyone.
Translated and edited by Zhang Rui, Zhu Bochen, Huang Shan, Wang Yanfang, Liu Caiyi, Wang Ziteng, Xu Kailin, Wang Wei, Liu Sitong, Zhang Junmian, Guo Yiming, Li Huiru, David Ball, Jay Birbeck, Tom Arnstein, and Rochelle Beiersdorfer. In case of any discrepancy between the English and Chinese texts, the Chinese version is deemed to prevail.
