The
main direction of economic work in the TAR is accelerating the development
of "five pillar industries" - mining, forestry, agricultural and livestock
by-products and handicrafts, tourism, and building. The five industries
are planned to turn out products "on a large scale as soon as possible".
The focus of industrialization in Xizang (Tibet) is on developing mining. Processing
of minerals and of timber will be encouraged within the region, instead
of transporting ores and uncut logs to processing plants outside the region,
and a coordinated industrial network for the growing of forests will be
developed, together with measures for the protection of forest reserves.
Last year the region made 87.74m yuan [$10.57 million] from forestry,
an increase of 7.6% over 1995.
The development of the five industries depends on attracting "private entrepreneurs from outside Xizang (Tibet) to set up industries in our region and give full play to their role in invigorating the circulation of commodities in urban and rural areas and enriching the lives of the masses," a policy which will fuel allegations by Tibetans that the Chinese government is encouraging Chinese traders to move into the area and dominate the economy.