Economy of Tibet
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This article may be expanded with text translated from the corresponding article in the French Wikipedia. (March 2012) Click [show] on the right for instructions.
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The economy of Tibet is dominated by subsistence agriculture. Due to limited arable land, livestock raising is the primary occupation mainly on the Tibetan Plateau, among them are sheep, cattle, goats, camels, yaks, donkeys and horses. The main crops grown are barley, wheat, buckwheat, rye, potatoes, oats, rapeseeds, cotton and assorted fruits and vegetables. In recent years the economy has begun evolving into a multiple structure with agriculture and tertiary industry developing side by side.
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[edit] Economy
| Development of GDP | |
|---|---|
| Year | GDP in Bill.Yuan |
| 1994 | 5 |
| 2000 | 12 |
| 2004 | 20 |
| 2006 | 29 |
| Source: [1] | |
Tibet's GDP in 2008 was 39.6 billion yuan.[2] The Chinese government says that it exempts Tibet from all taxation and provides 90% of Tibet's government expenditure. Critics say that the central government in Beijing are stripping Tibetan resources and neglecting the welfare of Tibetan people.[3]
According to the Chairman of the Tibet Autonomous Region, Qiangba Puncog, Tibet's economy has grown on average 12% per year from 2000 to 2006. The per capita GDP reached 10,000 RMB in 2006 for the first time in Tibet's history.[4]
In the first six months of 2008, economic growth in Tibet was halved after the Lhasa riots led to a slump in tourism, consumption and output. The region’s economy expanded 7.4 percent in the period from 2007, down from 14.7 percent in the year-earlier period.[5]
[edit] Chinese development efforts
From January 18-20, 2010 a national conference on Tibet and areas inhabited by Tibetans in Sichuan, Yunnan, Gansu and Qinghai was held in China and a substantial plan to improve development of the areas was announced. The conference was attended by CPC Politburo Standing Committee members: Hu Jintao, Wu Bangguo, Wen Jiabao, Jia Qinglin, Li Changchun, Xi Jinping, Li Keqiang, He Guoqiang and Zhou Yongkang signaling the commitment of senior Chinese leaders to development of Tibet and ethnic Tibetan areas. The plan calls for improvement of rural Tibetan income to national standards by 2020 and free education for all rural Tibetan children. The Chinese government has invested 310 billion yuan (about 45.6 billion U.S. dollars) in Tibet since 2001. "Tibet's GDP was expected to reach 43.7 billion yuan in 2009, up 170 percent from that in 2000 and posting an annual growth of 12.3 percent over the past nine years."[6] Outside observers credited increased interest in Tibet to concern over Tibetan nationalism which resulted in ethnic unrest in 2008.[7]
[edit] Traditional handicrafts
The rapid economic development of the R.A.T. has brought about a revival of traditional handicrafts. Many Tibetans today draw a significant part of their income from selling handicraft and cultural products to tourists, or even to other Tibetans.[8]
Founded in 1953[9], the state carpet-making factory in Lhasa has turned into a modern enterprise whose products are sold in Europe, North America and South Asia.[10]
[edit] Tourism
In recent years Tibet's tourism has expanded rapidly, especially after the completion of Qingzang Railway in July 2006. Tibet received 2.5 million tourists in 2006, including 150,000 foreigners.[4]
In 2007, the figure climbed to some 4 million visitors but fell to only 2,246,400 in 2008[11] on account of the region being closed to tourism from March till June.
Between January and July 2009, more than 2.7 million tourists visited the TAR, three times as many as for the same period in 2008[12], generating an income of 2.29 billion yuans. [13]
[edit] References
- ^ Gov.cn, February 2007: [1]
- ^ "China's Tibet Fact and Figures 2003". China Tibet Information Service. 2002-08-26. http://info.tibet.cn/en/newfeature/faf2003/t20050516_29443.htm. Retrieved 2006-02-24.
- ^ "Tibet's economy depends on Beijing". NPR News. 2002-08-26. http://216.35.221.77/templates/story/story.php?storyId=6083766. Retrieved 2006-02-24.
- ^ a b "Tibet's economy grows at an average rate of 12 percent last 6 years". CCTV. 2007-06-21. http://www.cctv.com/program/bizchina/20070621/104983.shtml. Retrieved 2007-06-22.
- ^ Peng, James (January 16, 2009). "China Says ‘Sabotage’ by Dalai Lama Supporters Set Back Tibet" (in English). http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601080&sid=a_Tg57.MXpcY&refer=asia. Retrieved 2009-02-07.
- ^ "China to achieve leapfrog development, lasting stability in Tibet" news.xinhuanet.com/english
- ^ "China to Seek ‘Stability’ in Tibet via Development" article by Edward Wong in The New York Times, January 23, 2010.
- ^ Mark Anthony Jones, "Flowing Waters Never Stale: Journey Through China", Zeus Publications, Burleigh MDC, Queensland, 2008 ISBN 978-1-921406-32-4, p. 143 : "Many Tibetans are clearly keen to benefit from the money that the sharply increasing number of tourists bring, producing and selling all kinds of traditional handicrafts, and (…) some of these cultural products on sale to tourists have also become popular with the Tibetans themselves, which is why cultural production, now linked to tourism, is ‘a very important factor in the revitalisation of Tibetan culture.’ "
- ^ (French) Style et origine des tapis tibétains.
- ^ Wang Wenchang and Lha Can, L’économie du Tibet, Collection Tibet, Chine Intercontinental Presse, 2004, 121 p., ISBN 7508505670, p.7.
- ^ Report: tourism in Tibet plays more important role, Focus on Tibet, April 5, 2009.
- ^ Le Tibet a accueilli 2,7 millions de touristes entre janvier et juillet 2009
- ^ Tourisme au Tibet : record du nombre de touristes en juillet 2009.
For details on the nature of economic development and the economic causes of unrest in Tibet, see Ben Hillman", "Rethinking China's Tibet Policy", Japan Focus online:
[edit] External links and sources
- Guidelines For International Development Projects And Sustainable Investment In Tibet (Site Tibet.com)
- Impoverishing Tibetans (2000, Site of TCHRD)
- http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=6083766
- http://www.infoplease.com/ce6/world/A0861545.html
- http://english.people.com.cn/english/200101/23/eng20010123_61172.html
- http://www.china.org.cn/english/tibet-english/jjzs.htm
- http://english.people.com.cn/english/200011/11/eng20001111_54881.html
- http://www.case.edu/affil/tibet/booksAndPapers/papers/miller4.htm
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