The top official in the Tibet autonomous region praised the friendship and cooperation between China and Ukraine in a meeting in Lhasa with a delegation from Ukraine recently.

Wu Yingjie, the region's Party secretary, said he appreciated the Ukrainian government's resolute adherence to the one-China policy.

He emphasized that China is a unified, multiethnic country and that Tibet has been an inalienable part of China since ancient times.

Wu said Tibet was a feudal society before and most of the means of production belonged to a group made up only 5 percent of the region's population.

"Thanks to the leadership of the Communist Party of China, Tibet has achieved peaceful liberation and established a socialist system, stepping forward to a bright future through deepening reform," he said.

In the past five years, the central government has invested nearly 1 trillion yuan ($157 billion) to support several major projects in Tibet and promoted a series of preferential policies to support the region's development, Wu said.

The per capita disposable income in rural parts of the region is now more than 10,000 yuan, compared with just over 3,000 yuan in 2008.

He said Tibet is enjoying the best period of development in its history, with improved infrastructure, social progress and cultural richness. People's freedom of religious belief is respected and the system of regional ethnic autonomy has been fully implemented, Wu said.

He said the delegation was welcome to stay in Tibet for longer to experience its social development and take a real picture of the region back to people of Ukraine.

Viktor Yelensky, a member of the Ukrainian parliament who led the delegation, congratulated Tibet on its remarkable economic and social development.

He said the friendship between Ukraine and China has a long history and that the two countries' cooperation in all fields has borne fruit.

He said Ukraine will continue to support the one-China policy, adding that he hopes the visit will deepen understanding of the region and strengthen the two countries' friendship, contributing to future cooperation.