Chinese leader Xi Jinping has made a rare trip to Tibet and hailed the crushing of “separatism” in the once-restive region, as Beijing prepares for a looming struggle over the successor of the aging and exiled Dalai Lama and the hearts and minds of millions of Tibetans.

Chinese President Xi Jinping arrived in the Tibetan capital of Lhasa on Wednesday for his second-ever visit as China’s leader to mark the 60th anniversary of Tibet’s founding as an autonomous region.