The Tibet autonomous region expects to see GDP growth of 8 percent, as well as per capita growth in disposable income of 8 percent for urban residents and 10 percent for rural residents in 2023, said Wang Junzheng, the region's Party secretary.

Next year is the starting year to fully implement the spirit of the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, and the region will deepen opening-up and reform and will meet goals for social and economic development, Wang said at the region's annual economic work conference on Tuesday.

"In the coming year, we will strive to maintain steady economic growth, stable employment and stable prices of goods," Wang said.

Reviewing past months, the region has seen steady economic growth, with its GDP expected to see growth of nearly 3 percent in 2022, despite the impact of COVID-19, which has ravaged Tibet since early August.

"This year, the region has effectively carried out measures to maintain economic development despite COVID-19. A series of measures have been practiced to stabilize economic development and minimize the impact of the pandemic," Wang said.

Tibet has made investments of more than 75 billion yuan ($10 billion) on key projects supported by the central government and spent more than 110 billion yuan on key infrastructure, he said. Such projects include the full-length construction of the Sichuan-Tibet Railway, the opening of two regional airports, investment in new-energy projects, with growth of 28 percent and the operation of region's Suwalong hydropower station, he added.

The positive economic growth also shows in other ways — for example, the installed electrical power capacity of operational and under-construction power stations approaching more than 17 million kilowatts, the region's grain output exceeding 1.07 million metric tons this year and the added value of the region's digital economy, which has seen growth above 10 percent.

By Daqiong and Palden Nyima