Socio-Economic Development of Tibet in the 11th Five-Year Plan (2006–2010). Part 9

Abstract

The 11th Five-year Plan of the People's Republic of China was an important stage in the socio-economic development of both the whole of China and the TAR in its composition. The plan set an annual GDP growth rate of 7.5 %, which actually exceeded 10 %. Tibet, on the other hand, was developing at a rate of more than 12 % per year. During the five-year plan, Tibet experienced many serious trials: a series of powerful earthquakes that claimed thousands of lives. In 2008, when China was preparing to host the Olympic Games in Beijing in August, Western intelligence agencies provoked an uprising in Lhasa on March 18. The leaders of France (in 2008) and the United States (in 2010) distinguished themselves by provocations against China, meeting with the Dalai Lama, despite the vigorous objections of the Chinese authorities. Nevertheless, Britain officially recognized Tibet for the first time as an autonomous region within the PRC. Significant achievements have been made in the development of transport in the region and especially aviation. Tibet remained one of the twelve least developed western regions of the People's Republic of China, but its economy continued to develop dynamically. The authority of Tibet in the world community has significantly increased, one of the manifestations of this was the great success of Tibet at the world Exhibition in Shanghai in 2010.