A reception in celebration of the 40th anniversary of the founding of the Tibet Autonomous Region of China was held Tuesday in Kathmandu in the Chinese Embassy to Nepal.

"Since regional ethnic autonomy was implemented in Tibet in 1965, the Tibetan people, in the capacity of masters of the nation and under the leadership of the central government, have actively participated in administration of the state and local affairs," Chinese Ambassador to Nepal Sun Heping said at the reception.

With the special support from the state for its development, Tibet has progressed by leaps and bounds in the system, structure and total volume of its economy in the last four decades, said the ambassador.

In the first half of this year, the gross domestic product of the Tibet Autonomous Region surged by 12.1 percent year on year to reach about 9.5 billion yuan (1.17 billion US dollars), higher than the national average of 9.5 percent for the same period, Sun Heping said.

China's Tibet Autonomous Region and Nepal share border and they have a long history of close relations, which provides a particularly favorable natural condition for the development of cooperation, Sun Heping noted.

Close exchanges in various fields will greatly facilitate communication and cooperation between the Tibet Autonomous Region of China and Nepal, the ambassador pointed out.

"The 40 years has seen all ethnic Tibetan people politically freed and become their own master," Thundup, the head of a 14- member youth delegation from China to visit Nepal, who is vice- chairman of the People's Political Consultative Conference of the Tibet Autonomous Region of China, said at the reception.

"Today, Tibet enjoys economic development, social progress, national unity, stable situation and people live and work happily and peacefully," Thundup added.

Source: Xinhua