Xi has pledged to support construction along Tibet's Himalayan border, while the Chinese President reaffirmed Beijing's control on his first official visit to the border region.
According to the official Xinhua News Agency, Xi on Friday urged ethnic Tibetans and other minority groups to join the 70th anniversary of the Communist Party's control over the region. in a visit scheduled to mark the anniversary, he urged the country to help defend itself. The trip, which includes a stopover in Nyingtri, China's military hub, on the country's disputed border with India, comes as tensions rise amid claims by both sides of aggressive troop movements and infrastructure decommissioning.
"His message will be particularly disturbing for India," said Robert Barnett, a British academic who has written about Tibet, as he posted videos showing the Chinese leader talking to locals . Xi's trip "shows that he has placed his border fight with India at the top of China's national agenda," Barnett said.
"China will Tue infrastructure construction along the border and encourage people from various minorities to take root at the border, defend the region and build the homeland," Xi said, according to Xinhua.
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