Chinese President Xi Jinping made an unusually high-profile visit to Tibet this week, underscoring Beijing’s determination to cement Communist Party control over the restive Himalayan region and sending a clear message about the future of Tibetan identity, religion, and governance. The trip, which took place on August 20 and 21, 2025, coincided with ceremonies marking the 60th anniversary of the creation of the Tibet Autonomous Region, a milestone the Chinese government regards as a triumph of integration and development. Yet, for many Tibetans and outside observers, the visit highlighted an ongoing struggle over culture, faith, and political autonomy.
According to Xinhua, China’s state-run news agency, Xi arrived in Lhasa on Wednesday, where he was welcomed by a crowd of about 20,000 officials and residents. The two-day program was packed with symbolism: events were staged against the backdrop of the iconic Potala Palace, once the seat of the Dalai Lama’s government. Senior leaders, including Wang Huning, who oversees ethnic affairs, drove home a central message: Tibet’s future depends on unwavering Communist Party leadership. Wang warned, “All attempts to split the motherland and undermine the stability of Tibet are doomed to fail.”
Xi’s speeches and meetings during the visit left little doubt about the party’s priorities. He instructed local officials to expand Mandarin Chinese instruction in schools, bring Tibetan Buddhism into closer conformity with socialist principles, and cultivate a stronger sense of national identity under party leadership. As reported by The Wall Street Journal, Xi emphasized that officials must first ensure political order, ethnic unity, and religious calm to effectively manage and develop the region.
“To govern, stabilize, and develop Tibet, the first thing is to maintain political stability, social stability, ethnic unity, and religious harmony,” Xi said, as quoted in the Washington Examiner. He added, “Only under the leadership of the Communist Party of China, by adhering to the path of socialism with Chinese characteristics, upholding the system of regional ethnic autonomy, and following the party’s new-era strategy for governing Tibet, can Tibet achieve prosperity and progress […] and enable the people of all ethnic groups in Tibet to live a happy and healthy new life.”
Xi’s remarks were widely interpreted as a veiled rebuke of the Dalai Lama, the exiled spiritual leader of Tibetan Buddhism, who continues to oppose Chinese rule from his base in India. While Xi did not mention the Dalai Lama by name, his call to regulate “religious affairs” and guide Tibetan Buddhism to adapt to socialist society was seen as a direct challenge to the Dalai Lama’s influence. The Chinese government has long insisted that it must approve any successor to the Dalai Lama, a claim the spiritual leader has repeatedly rejected.
This simmering conflict over religious authority has deep roots. After China’s annexation of Tibet in 1951, Tenzin Gyatso, the 14th Dalai Lama, fled to India, where he established a government-in-exile and has spent decades advocating for Tibetan autonomy and cultural preservation. Now over 90 years old, the Dalai Lama has made it clear that he intends to thwart Beijing’s efforts to control his succession. In a book released earlier this year, he wrote, “Since the purpose of a reincarnation is to carry on the work of the predecessor, the new Dalai Lama will be born in the free world so that the traditional mission of the Dalai Lama — that is, to be the voice for universal compassion, the spiritual leader of Tibetan Buddhism, and the symbol of Tibet embodying the aspirations of the Tibetan people — will continue.”
China, however, has taken extraordinary measures to shape the religious landscape to its advantage. The Communist Party, which is officially atheist, maintains that the rebirth of “living Buddhas” must “comply with Chinese laws and regulations,” effectively requiring that all reincarnations remain within Chinese borders. The stakes are high: a Beijing-approved Dalai Lama would seriously undermine the prospects for Tibetan autonomy and could reshape the region’s spiritual life for generations.
To assert control, Communist Party officials have gone so far as to kidnap the second-highest lama in Tibetan Buddhism, who traditionally holds the responsibility for identifying the Dalai Lama’s reincarnation. Beijing then appointed its own replacement, Gyaincain Norbu, a young man described as enthusiastically pro-communist and pro-China. This move has been widely condemned by Tibetan exiles and human rights advocates as a blatant attempt to manipulate a centuries-old religious tradition for political ends.
Xi’s visit also spotlighted Tibet’s strategic significance in China’s broader regional ambitions. The region shares a long border with India, a rival power with whom China clashed in 2020. Tibet is the source of rivers that sustain more than a billion people downstream, making control over its natural resources a matter of national security for Beijing. During the visit, Xi urged progress on a massive $167 billion hydropower project on the Tibetan plateau, which broke ground in July 2025. This project is being promoted as a driver of jobs, business activity, and emissions reductions — but it also raises concerns about environmental impacts and the displacement of local communities.
Since taking power in 2012, Xi has advanced a tougher line on integrating ethnic minorities across China. In Tibet, authorities have tightened controls on religion, language, and schooling, expanded state-run boarding programs that teach mainly in Mandarin, and built dense policing networks, according to The Wall Street Journal. Robert Barnett, a Tibet scholar at the University of London’s School of Oriental and African Studies, observed that Xi’s repeated emphasis on political education suggests a lingering concern that loyalty to the party has not fully taken root, despite decades of Chinese rule. “The fear of hidden disloyalty may explain the push for Mandarin instruction and party history study,” Barnett noted.
Chinese officials, for their part, reject accusations of cultural suppression. They argue that party policies have dramatically improved living standards while preserving Tibetan identity. According to state media, the region now offers 15 years of free schooling from kindergarten through senior high, and average life expectancy has soared to 72.5 years — more than double the figure from 1951. Champa Gyatso, a monk at Sakya Monastery, praised the changes, saying, “Our access to elderly care, medical services and housing has been truly ensured.”
Xi’s previous visit to Tibet in 2021 marked the 70th anniversary of Beijing’s takeover. This year’s trip, according to Xinhua, is further proof of the party center’s close attention to the region. The timing was also notable: as Xi toured Tibet, his foreign minister was visiting New Delhi, reflecting a strategy that blends military pressure with diplomatic outreach toward India.
For many Tibetans, however, the pageantry and promises of development mask a deeper anxiety about the erosion of their language, faith, and way of life. The struggle over who gets to define Tibetan identity — and who controls its future — remains far from resolved. As Beijing tightens its grip, the world is left watching, wondering what the next chapter will bring for this storied land on the roof of the world.
