New Tibet chairman is elected

Qi Zhala, former Party chief of Lhasa, capital of the Tibet autonomous region, has been appointed the region's chairman, it was announced on Sunday.

Losang Gyaltsan, the former chairman, was elected chairman of the Standing Committee of the Tibet People's Congress. Qi, 59, was appointed to the post at the fifth session of the 10th Tibet People's Congress on Sunday.

A member of the Tibetan ethnic group, Qi was born in Shangri-La, Yunnan province.

Qi worked in different areas of Yunnan for 31 years before relocating to Lhasa. He was Party chief of Yunnan's Diqing Tibet autonomous prefecture before moving to Lhasa.

He said Tibet is in the process of building an all-around well-off society, adding that President Xi Jinping and the central government have placed great expectations on Tibet's reform and development.

"I am faced with a tough task and huge responsibility. I will study and work hard," he said.