China's Xizang welcomes foreign friends to come to visit, invest: official

Xizang is open to the outside world, and the region welcomes foreign friends to come to visit, invest, start up businesses, and it also welcomes foreign journalists to come to conduct interviews, said a senior official of southwest China's Xizang Autonomous Region on Friday.

Xu Zhitao, deputy head of the regional government, made the remarks at a press conference on the release of a white paper titled "Human Rights in Xizang in the New Era" in Lhasa, capital city of the region.

"Xizang is open to the outside world. We have always welcomed foreign friends to come for visit and travel, and we also welcome foreign journalists to come to have interviews. Meanwhile, we have adopted certain management and supporting measures for receiving foreigners amid Xizang's unique natural environment, geographical conditions, and reception capacity," he said.

Xu said there has been an increasing number of foreigners coming to visit the region over the recent years.

"Xizang, especially the current Party committee and government, has attached great importance to further opening up the region as vitality comes only from an open society. I am in charge of culture and tourism in the government, and over the years, I have done a lot of work in this regard. We welcome more foreigners to come to visit, invest and start up businesses in Xizang. Over the recent years, there has been an increasing number of foreigners coming to visit Xizang. In 2024, Xizang welcomed 320,000 foreign tourists in total," said the official.

Xu pledged to provide more convenience for foreigners coming to visit Xizang.

"Looking ahead, I believe that Xizang will further accelerate its opening up to the outside world, and we will continue to provide more convenient conditions for foreigners coming to Xizang, based on the changes in Xizang's tourist reception capacity and infrastructure development," he added.

China's Xizang welcomes foreign friends to come to visit, invest: official

China's Xizang welcomes foreign friends to come to visit, invest: official

Multiple Chinese rescue teams have arrived in the disaster-stricken areas in Myanmar, rushing to work with local responders around the clock to search for survivors following the massive and devastating earthquake that occurred on Friday.

In the hard-hit city of Mandalay, many Chinese rescuers have been working nearly 20 hours to search for lives among collapsed buildings and under the rubble.

The operation has faced significant hurdles with repeated aftershocks in the city complicating the rescue efforts. Despite these challenges, Chinese rescuers have made notable progress, as two dedicated rescue corridors have been established to accelerate the search and rescue process.

So far Chinese teams have rescued six survivors in severely-hit Nay Pyi Taw and Mandalay. The rescuers combed through the ruins of apartments, hotels and hospitals to find signs of life. Continuous aftershocks, power cuts, destroyed roads and communication interruptions made their rescue work even harder.

Meanwhile, more Chinese rescue teams are heading to Myanmar, bringing in earthquake experts, structural engineers, medical personnel and canine units, as well as life detectors, demolition equipment and field hospital systems.

Despite challenges like confined working areas, frequent aftershocks, residual fires and dense smoke, local and international rescuers are racing against time, hoping to save more people as the crucial 72-hour window of earthquake rescue closes.

The death toll from the 7.9-magnitude earthquake in Myanmar has risen to 2,056, with approximately 3,900 people injured and nearly 270 reported missing, according to the country's State Administration Council Information Team on Monday.

Chinese rescuers race against time in Myanmar quake relief