The International Seminar on Border Control Law Enforcement Cooperation and Border Security and Stability takes place on August 26 in the city of Manzhouli.[Photo/Xinhua]

Given that the stability and security in the Tibet autonomous region are closely relevant to those of the whole nation, any work related to the region should focus on maintaining national unity and consolidating ethnic solidarity, President Xi Jinping stressed at the sixth central meeting on work related to Tibet and the Tibetan-populated areas.

Whether Tibet can enjoy lasting, enduring and overall stability should be regarded as a top priority of the work, and the country should take the initiative in the fight against any move aimed at splitting Tibet from the motherland, Xi said.

Such remarks are an elaboration of the practical and long-term strategic significance of Tibet's stability to the country as a whole.

As a border region, Tibet has long served as an important safety shield for the whole country. Thus, solidarity among the various ethnic groups and a sense of national identity are of the utmost importance. Ensuring the region's stability and security should be the key aims for government work related to Tibet and Tibetans, and these will also help create favorable conditions for the region's economic development and raising local people's living standards.

Therefore, efforts should be made to promote local economic and social development, and ecological protection.

National unity is in the interests of Chinese people from all ethnic groups and ethnic solidarity offers an important guarantee for national unity. Considering the fact that more than 90 percent of inhabitants of Tibet are Tibetans, national work related to the region should be particularly focused on how to promote solidarity between Tibetans and other ethnic groups as a way of enhancing national cohesion.

The above is an abridgement of a People's Daily article published on Friday.