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.

A power struggle is taking shape over choosing a successor to the 90-year-old Buddhist leader. In a trip to Tibet’s capital, China’s leader emphasized maintaining Beijing’s control.

Lhasa has been the epicenter of the celebrations for the 60th anniversary of the autonomous region, led by the supreme leader Xi Jinping. In 1965, six years after the Dalai Lama fled into exile in India following a failed Tibetan uprising,