Beijing - Premier Wen Jiabao on Friday defended China's policies in Tibetan areas, saying they had achieved economic development and led to "peace and stability."

"The situation in Tibet is on the whole peaceful and stable," Wen told reporters in the first remarks by a top Chinese leader since Tuesday's 50th anniversary of a failed Tibetan uprising against Chinese rule.

The government's policies and legislation had "provided for the freedom and rights of the people of Tibet, particularly their freedom of religion," he said.

Wen's comments ran counter to descriptions of the situation in Tibetan areas by Tibetan exile groups, which charged that China has responded to the anniversary by increasing its use of fear and intimidation to stamp out protests and opposition.

The stability and economic development of Tibet "prove that the policies we have adopted are right," Wen argued at the end of the annual session of the National People's Congress (NPC), the nominal parliament of China's ruling Communist Party.

"Tibet will remain committed firmly to the policy of opening up because this meets the needs of Tibet's development," he said.

Paramilitary police have sealed off Tibetan areas of China to foreigners since Tuesday amid tensions surrounding the anniversaries of the 1959 uprising and violent protests last year.

Foreign journalists and tourists are barred from almost all Tibetan areas of provinces adjoining the Tibet Autonomous Region as the government has tightened border security and stepped up a propaganda drive. (dpa)