BEIJING, Sept. 6 -- Implementing the system of regional ethnic autonomy in Tibet conforms to China's reality as a unified multi-ethnic country, according to a white paper about Tibet published on Sunday.

Ever since ancient times, Tibet has been an integral part of China, and the Tibetan ethnic group has been a communal member of the Chinese nation sharing a common destiny, the white paper titled "Successful Practice of Regional Ethnic Autonomy in Tibet" said.

From the 13th century, when the Yuan Dynasty (1271-1368) included Tibet under its central administrative jurisdiction, to the time before 1949 when the People's Republic of China was founded, the central governments of all dynasties in China ruled Tibet as part of the country, it added.

Regional ethnic autonomy is the correct choice for China, a unified multiethnic country, to address ethnic issues and relations. It is also a significant component of China's socialist system. Under the socialist system, all power belongs to the people, and the state safeguards the democratic rights of the people. The exercise of this system in Tibet has combined unification and autonomy, taking into account both ethnic and regional factors, according to the white paper.

Through several decades of exploring the path of regional ethnic autonomy, the people of all ethnic groups in Tibet Autonomous Region have achieved equality, unity, mutual support and harmony, and the system of regional ethnic autonomy has won the wholehearted support of all ethnic groups in China, it added.