Chinese President Hu Jintao said Monday that to maintain a harmonious and stable society is a prerequisite for the development of Tibet and the well-being of all ethnic groups living there.

Emphasis should be laid on improving the living and working conditions of farmers and herdsmen, so that they can share the achievements of China's reform and development, said Hu while joining a panel discussion of Tibetan legislators at the ongoing annual session of the Tenth National People's Congress (NPC), China's top legislature.

The work concerning ethnic groups and religions must be done well, said Hu, who is also general secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission.

"Development is the basis and key to tackle all the problems in Tibet," he said.

Hu said the Qinghai-Tibet railway that opened to traffic last July provides a historic opportunity for the development of Tibet." Such an opportunity must be seized well and made full use of," he said.

The Tibetan lawmakers were discussing the government work report delivered by Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao at the opening of the NPC annual session Monday morning.

The president gave his consent to the report and spoke highly of the achievements in Tibet's economic and social development in 2006.

(Xinhua News Agency March 6, 2007)