China’s five autonomous regions—Inner Mongolia, Guangxi Zhuang, Xizang, Xinjiang Uygur and Ningxia Hui—expanded their combined gross domestic product to nearly 8.38 trillion yuan (about US$1.17 trillion) in 2024, up from 6.01 trillion yuan in 2020, a senior official told a State Council Information Office briefing on Monday. The figures, delivered by Duan Yijun, deputy head of the National Ethnic Affairs Commission, translate into an average annual growth rate of 5.6 percent over the four-year period. Xizang and Xinjiang led the pack with average yearly gains of 6.1 percent and 6.0 percent, respectively, underscoring Beijing’s push to narrow regional development gaps and bolster economic activity in border areas. Local data illustrate the trend. Nyingchi, a tourism hub in Xizang, reported 2024 GDP of 26.7 billion yuan, with visitor numbers topping 15.3 million and tourism revenue reaching 13.82 billion yuan. Officials said infrastructure upgrades and the growth of clean-energy and specialty-agriculture industries have helped lift per-capita incomes and diversify the city’s economy.