Jia Qinglin met with Akong Rinpoche and other Tibetans in London on Oct. 23. (Xinhua Photo) Photo Gallery >>>

    LONDON, Oct. 23 (Xinhua) -- Jia Qinglin, chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), met here Monday with Akong Rinpoche and other Tibetans in Britain to explain Beijing's policy for Tibet, a western autonomous region of China.

    During the meeting at Kensington Suite of Royal Garden Hotel, Jia said the Chinese government would continue to enhance the level of support for economic and social development in Tibet, and to improve the living standards and conditions of production for farmers in Tibet.

    He said the central government would support the development of Tibet's traditional culture, make efforts to promote not only Tibet's industrial modernization but also its environmental protection to build that land an environmentally friendly one.

    The leader of the CPPCC, China's top advisory body, also reiterated the central government's policy of welcoming patriotic Tibetans, saying "the motherland always welcomes and firmly supports the overseas Tibetans and expects that they would make contributions to a prosperous and stable Tibet."

    Akong Rinpoche expressed his appreciation for the central government's care for overseas Tibetans.

    "Though we have settled abroad for a long time, we are always concerned about the development of our motherland, in particular the development in Tibet," he said.

    "We will continue to make contributions to the development of Tibet," said Akong Rinpoche, who currently lives in a Tibetan cultural center in Scotland.

    Jia came here from Birmingham earlier on Monday and was expected to meet British Prime Minister Tony Blair on Tuesday.

    Britain is the first leg of his four-nation Europe tour from Oct. 22 to Nov. 3, which will also take him to Lithuania, Estonia and Ukraine.

Jia Qinglin (front, R), Chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), is welcomed upon his arrival in London, Britain, Oct. 23, 2006.(Xinhua Photo) Photo Gallery >>>