The 14-year-old boy picked by Beijing as the new Panchen Lama, the second-highest figure in Tibetan Buddhism, has praised communist rule in Tibet in what the government described as his first published interview.
Gyaltsen Norbu also reportedly said religious freedom in Tibet is "fully respected."
His comments, carried by state media, come amid complaints by activists abroad that government controls are damaging Tibet's religious institutions, the foundation of its Buddhist society.
Despite the region's poverty, Norbu reportedly said he was satisfied with its economic and social development.
"We wouldn't have made all these achievements without the good leadership of the Chinese Communist Party," the official Xinhua News Agency quoted Norbu as saying in an interview Friday.
Norbu was picked in 1995 as the reincarnation of his predecessor, after Chinese officials rejected a boy chosen by the Dalai Lama, the exiled Tibetan leader. The other boy, Gedhun Choekyi Nyima, has not been seen since and Chinese officials refuse to say where he is.
"Tibetan Buddhist temples and religious activities are well-protected," the Communist Party newspaper People's Daily on Sunday quoted Norbu as saying. "The policy of religious freedom is fully respected. It makes me very happy."
Norbu is believed to live in Beijing but recently has been in Xigaze, Tibet's second-biggest city and the traditional seat of the Panchen Lama. Xinhua said crowds of the faithful gather outside his monastery, hoping to catch a glimpse of him.
Tibet has been a volatile issue since the communists in 1951 took control of the region, China's poorest and most isolated. Most of its people are farmers and herders, living on as little as 1,600 yuan (US$200, euro 160) a year.
Beijing accuses the Dalai Lama's government in exile in India of pursuing independence, though he says he wants only autonomy for the region in order to preserve its language and culture.
Thousands of Tibetan monks and nuns were killed and monasteries and temples were destroyed during the ultra-radical Cultural Revolution of 1966-76.
A report in July by the Washington-based International Campaign for Tibet said China was threatening the future of Tibetan Buddhism by limiting the numbers of monks, discouraging festivals and reducing time for religious study.
The report said ordinary Tibetans are under increased pressure to denounce the Dalai Lama, who is widely revered in Tibet despite decades of propaganda against him.
In his few public appearances, Norbu has been under heavy security.
His status is so sensitive that when a group of foreign journalists visited the Tibetan capital of Lhasa recently, officials refused to confirm that the Panchen Lama was in the city even though state media released details of his visit.
Xinhua said Norbu also appealed for world peace.
"I hope all the war-torn places in the world will stop fighting soon," he was quoted as saying. "A war breaks out when too many people are self-centered. There'll be peace in the world only if we're as selfless as our own mothers, and treat all flesh as our own children."
Xinhua said the Panchen Lama is "polite to the elderly and loves children. He would cuddle and feed birds, cats and dogs whenever he sees one."