In July 2021, Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) made a historic visit to Tibet, becoming the first president of the People’s Republic of China to do so since Jiang Zemin (江澤民) in 1999. During the unannounced trip, which came against the backdrop of the China-India border clashes, Xi traveled to Nyingchi, near the Indian border, and to Lhasa, where he emphasized the need to strengthen Tibetan loyalty to China and the Chinese Communist Party (CCP).
Xi was accompanied by a high-profile delegation, including Politburo Standing Committee member Ding Xuexiang (丁薛祥), his close aide and frequent companion; former Chinese vice premier Liu He (劉鶴), his key economic planner; Yang Xiaodu (楊曉渡), a party discipline official with long experience in Tibet; Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng (何立峰), China’s top development and infrastructure authority; and Zhang Youxia (張又俠), a senior military commander whose presence highlighted the visit’s security and military undertones.
Four years later, Xi last week returned to Tibet, this time for the 60th anniversary of the so-called “liberation of Tibet.” Such frequent visits by China’s top leader are rare, but this second trip must be understood in the context of crucial political and geopolitical developments.
Most notably, in July, just before his birthday, His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama declared that there would indeed be a 15th Dalai Lama, adding that the authority to decide on the reincarnation rests solely with the Dalai Lama’s institution and Tibetans, not the Chinese state. He further proclaimed that the next Dalai Lama would be born in a free country outside Tibet, directly rejecting Beijing’s claim to control the succession process.
The announcement drew widespread international support, including from leaders in the US and India. Symbolically, soon after his birthday, the Dalai Lama traveled to Ladakh, where he was received with deep reverence by local communities. Ladakh, bordering Chinese-controlled Tibet and the site of the deadly 2020 border clash that killed 20 Indian soldiers, underscores the ongoing geopolitical stakes.
Adding to Beijing’s unease, Czech President Petr Pavel became the first Western head of state to meet the Dalai Lama in Ladakh, reinforcing global support for the Tibetan spiritual leader.
Against this backdrop, Xi’s visit to Lhasa last week was not an act of celebration, but a calculated projection of power. Four elements made this clear:
First was the choreographed public reception. Xi was welcomed at the airport by thousands of Tibetans in traditional attire, cheering him with singing and dancing, in scenes critics said had “North Korea vibes,” carefully staged to demonstrate mass loyalty.
Second, the visit featured an overwhelming military presence and a display of parades, underscoring the centrality of security and control in Beijing’s Tibet policy.
Third, Xi’s address repeated familiar themes of unity, stability and loyalty, emphasizing ethnic integration, loyalty toward the CCP, the Sinicization of Tibetan Buddhism, border security and anti-separatism, all aligned with Beijing’s assimilationist agenda.
Fourth, ideological and political reinforcement. Xi was accompanied by senior CCP leaders Wang Huning (王滬寧) and Cai Qi (蔡奇). Wang, the party’s chief ideologue, is the architect of assimilationist narratives, prioritizing Mandarin over Tibetan, replacing “Tibet” with “Xizang,” advocating the Sinicization of Tibetan Buddhism and reframing Tibetan history under CCP terms. Cai, a close Xi ally and Politburo Standing Committee member, oversees party discipline and security. His presence pointed directly to the tightening of religious and security controls.
Wang gave a speech during the trip, which further emphasized border security, ethnic integration, Sinicization of religion, Mandarin promotion and party-led unity.
Xi’s two visits to Tibet within just four years reveal their true intent. Far from being moments of celebration, they are calculated displays of Beijing’s power, rooted as much in confidence as in desperation to secure its grip over a sensitive and resistant region.
The visits highlight China’s determination to assimilate Tibet and its refusal to yield on matters of cultural or political autonomy. Xi’s repeated trips to Tibet, with speeches centered on issues of border security and control over Tibetan Buddhism, signal that Tibet’s role in broader geopolitics is only set to grow with particularly serious implications for India.
Dolma Tsering is a postdoctoral researcher in National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University’s Department of Humanities and Social Sciences.
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