Xi's Tibet Visit Puts Beijing's Power and the Dalai Lama's Succession in Focus

A Rare Presidential Visit at a Sensitive Moment

Chinese President Xi Jinping visited Lhasa on August 21, 2025, for the 60th anniversary of the founding of the Tibet Autonomous Region, addressing a region where Beijing's political authority and Tibetan religious identity remain deeply contested. A crowd of 20,000 gathered beneath a towering portrait of Xi, including local officials, military personnel, schoolchildren and Tibetans wearing traditional dress.

The journey was only Xi's second visit to Tibet as president. Its rarity gave the anniversary ceremony added political weight, allowing Beijing to present its vision of unity and development directly in the Tibetan capital while sending a message beyond China's borders.

The visit came as the future of Tibetan Buddhism faced a growing dispute over who would succeed the 14th Dalai Lama. The spiritual leader, now 90 and living in exile in India, maintains that his office will oversee the choice of his successor. China's government insists that it has the authority to approve that choice.

Major construction projects formed another part of the setting. China is building the Motuo Hydropower Station on the Yarlung Tsangpo river, which is expected to become the world's largest dam, and has announced plans for a railway linking Tibet with Xinjiang. Both projects reflect Beijing's drive to connect Tibet more closely with the rest of China.

What the Anniversary Means to Beijing and Tibetans

The Tibet Autonomous Region was formally established in 1965, with a promise of greater autonomy for ethnic minorities. Sixty years later, Beijing presents the region's development and stability as achievements of Chinese rule. Tibetan activists instead describe the anniversary as a reminder of lost control over their homeland.

Tibet's history lies at the center of that disagreement. Beijing says Tibet has been part of China for centuries. Many Tibetans maintain that it was essentially independent for most of that time, governed by a Buddhist theocracy centered on the Dalai Lama. A theocracy is a system in which religious authorities also exercise political power.

Communist forces occupied Tibet in 1951. After a failed uprising in 1959, the Dalai Lama fled to India and established a government in exile. The creation of the autonomous region followed six years later, but subsequent decades brought political repression, cultural assimilation and economic transformation.

The main dates behind the anniversary and the present dispute are:

• 1951: Communist forces occupied Tibet.
• 1959: A failed uprising was followed by the Dalai Lama's flight to India, where he established a government in exile.
• 1965: China formally established the Tibet Autonomous Region.
• 2008: Protests and a subsequent crackdown were followed by more systematic repression, surveillance and policing.
• 2020: A deadly border skirmish deepened tensions between China and India.
• August 21, 2025: Xi visited Lhasa for the autonomous region's 60th anniversary.

Tibet remains largely closed to foreign journalists and visitors. The anniversary therefore unfolded in a region where access is tightly restricted and where the government's account of progress is sharply challenged by Tibetan exiles and rights groups.

Xi's Priorities: Stability, Unity and Party Authority

Xi set out four priorities in remarks to senior Tibetan officials: political stability, social stability, ethnic unity and religious harmony. Together, those priorities describe Beijing's approach to governing Tibet, with Communist Party authority providing the framework for public life and religious activity.

The Chinese president praised local authorities for what he called their struggle against separatism, referring to decades of Tibetan resistance to Chinese rule. He described that effort as:

thorough struggle against separatism

Xi also outlined the kind of region he wanted officials to build:

modern socialist Tibet that is united, prosperous, civilized, harmonious, and beautiful

His message linked political loyalty with economic and social change. He urged the popularization of Mandarin Chinese, closer integration with the rest of the country and the continued adaptation of Tibetan Buddhism to socialist society.

Xi did not mention the Dalai Lama by name. His comments on religious affairs were nevertheless widely interpreted as a message to the exiled spiritual leader and his followers, coming amid their dispute with Beijing over the succession.

How Sinicization Affects Religious and Cultural Life

Xi has promoted the sinicization of religions since coming to power. In this context, the term means that religious practices and institutions must adapt to the Communist Party's values and policies. In Tibet, that approach reaches into monasteries, education and the way religious activities are permitted.

Tighter regulation of monasteries and increased surveillance of monks and nuns are part of the policy. Authorities have also sought to guide Tibetan Buddhism toward socialist values and restrict religious activities that do not have state approval.

Tibetan children have been sent to state boarding schools where Mandarin is the primary language of instruction. Alongside Xi's call to popularize Mandarin, those schools make language a central part of the effort to integrate Tibet with the rest of China.

Rights groups and Tibetan exiles say these measures erode Tibetan cultural and religious identity. Monks in Sichuan province have reported continuing oppression and persecution. Beijing, by contrast, maintains that its policies have improved living standards and brought stability to one of China's poorest regions.

The competing views concern everyday life as well as political authority. For Tibetan communities, they involve the language children use at school, the freedom of monks and nuns to practice their religion, and the ability to maintain traditions outside the state's direction.

Who Will Choose the Next Dalai Lama?

Tibetan Buddhists believe that the Dalai Lama is reincarnated in a new body after his death. Senior monks and the Dalai Lama's own office traditionally oversee the process of identifying that successor. The succession is therefore a religious decision with a central place in Tibetan cultural life.

China's officially atheist Communist Party insists that it alone has the authority to approve the next Dalai Lama. That position puts the government directly at odds with Tibetan religious authorities, who claim the right to conduct the process according to their traditions.

Two months before Xi's visit, the Dalai Lama reiterated that his office, rather than China, would select his successor and that the process would take place outside Chinese control. In a memoir published earlier in 2025, he specified where he believed his reincarnation would be born:

in the free world outside China

The Dalai Lama also urged his followers to reject any candidate selected by Beijing. His declaration sharpened the possibility of rival Dalai Lamas, one chosen by Tibetan religious authorities and another appointed by China. The successor has not been chosen; the confrontation concerns who will control the process.

For the Tibetan diaspora, the dispute reaches beyond the identity of a future spiritual leader. It concerns whether religious traditions can continue independently of the government whose rule many exiles reject.

A Religious Succession With Political Stakes

Robert Barnett, a scholar of Tibet at the School of Oriental and African Studies in London, explained why the succession has become a contest over authority as well as religion:

The succession of the Dalai Lama is a symbolic battleground and symbolic opportunity for the party to make a fundamental claim about who rules Tibet.

Beijing sees control over the succession as a way to legitimize its rule and weaken the influence of the Tibetan exile community. Tibetans who oppose China's role see the process as a test of their ability to preserve religious traditions and resist assimilation.

Dorjee Tseten, Asia Program Manager at the Tibet Action Institute and a member of Tibet's exiled Parliament, rejected both the anniversary celebration and Beijing's succession plans:

For Tibetans, the anniversary of the People's Republic of China's creation of the Tibet Autonomous Region is no cause of celebration, but a painful reminder of China's colonial occupation. Tibet remains one of China's greatest challenges, and Tibetans will never accept Beijing's imposed succession plan for the Dalai Lama.

Tseten's statement captures the divide surrounding Xi's visit. The same ceremony that Beijing used to display unity was viewed by Tibetan representatives and activists as an assertion of control over a population whose political and spiritual loyalties remain contested.

The succession dispute gives that disagreement a specific focus. Beijing's political power in Tibet and the Dalai Lama's religious authority among his followers now meet in the question of who can recognize the next leader.

The Giant Dam and Its Downstream Neighbors

The Motuo Hydropower Station on the Yarlung Tsangpo river is a centerpiece of China's development ambitions in Tibet. When completed, it is expected to become the world's largest dam, surpassing the Three Gorges Dam and generating three times as much energy.

That comparison shows the scale of the project: its expected energy output is three times that of the existing Three Gorges Dam. Beijing says Motuo will support local prosperity and China's goals for reducing carbon emissions.

India and Bangladesh have raised concerns because they depend on the river's flow downstream for water and agriculture. A project presented in China as a source of electricity and development is therefore also a matter of water security for neighboring countries.

Tibet's wider geography adds to those concerns. The region contains vast natural resources and is the source of major rivers flowing into South and Southeast Asia. Decisions about infrastructure within Tibet can consequently affect places well beyond its borders.

Critics argue that large development projects can come at the expense of local communities and the environment. They also contend that such projects reinforce Beijing's control rather than respond to Tibetan needs. Those objections sit alongside the government's claims that construction will bring prosperity and help meet its environmental goals.

Railways, Migration and a Disputed Frontier

China's planned railway linking Tibet with Xinjiang would connect two regions with large ethnic minority populations and histories of unrest. The proposal forms part of a broader strategy to integrate Tibet with the rest of China, support resource extraction and strengthen border security.

Recent years have also brought large scale migration of Han Chinese into Tibet and the construction of military and civilian infrastructure. These changes have reshaped the region economically while adding to Tibetan concerns about cultural assimilation.

Tibet's location on China's western frontier makes it a strategic asset for Beijing. Its border with India remains a source of military tension, and Chinese and Indian troops have clashed along the disputed boundary. Both countries have increased infrastructure development in the area.

During Xi's visit, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi was in India for talks aimed at rebuilding relations after the deadly border skirmish in 2020. The timing placed Beijing's display of authority in Tibet alongside diplomatic efforts to manage tensions with its neighbor.

The dam, railway and border infrastructure connect several of Beijing's priorities. They concern development and access to resources, but also closer national integration and security along a sensitive frontier. For India and Bangladesh, Tibet's transformation carries consequences for their own security and water supplies.

Restrictions and the Struggle Over Acceptance

Human rights organizations have documented widespread restrictions in Tibet on freedom of expression, religious practice and cultural activities. Since the protests and crackdown in 2008, repression has become more systematic through increased surveillance, policing and efforts to assimilate ethnic minorities.

The migration of Han Chinese, the removal of Tibetan children to boarding schools using Mandarin and the suppression of activities outside Communist Party authority have contributed to a sense of cultural erosion among Tibetans. These pressures help explain why official claims of development have not resolved the dispute over identity and religious freedom.

The Chinese government argues that its measures are necessary to prevent separatism and maintain order. Critics see them as evidence of Beijing's inability to win the "hearts and minds" of the Tibetan people, despite its investment in development and repeated displays of political authority.

An official from the Dalai Lama's office in exile linked Xi's journey directly to the spiritual leader's insistence on a traditional succession:

The Chinese have found themselves on the back foot. Xi's visit is another attempt by China to legitimize its occupation of Tibet, especially after the Dalai Lama's insistence that his post will have a successor chosen in the traditional way.

Xi's anniversary appearance brought together the main issues shaping Tibet as of August 21, 2025: Beijing's demand for unity, its effort to direct religious life, its investment in major infrastructure and Tibetan resistance to outside control of their spiritual traditions. The celebration displayed China's authority, while the succession dispute exposed the continuing struggle over its acceptance.

Key Points

• Xi Jinping visited Lhasa on August 21, 2025, for the Tibet Autonomous Region's 60th anniversary. The gathering drew 20,000 people.
• The trip was Xi's second visit to Tibet as president. He called for stability, ethnic unity, Mandarin use and the adaptation of Tibetan Buddhism to socialist society.
• The Dalai Lama, 90 and living in exile in India, says his office will oversee his succession. Beijing insists that it must approve the next leader.
• The competing claims could lead to rival Dalai Lamas chosen by Tibetan religious authorities and China.
• The Motuo Hydropower Station is expected to become the world's largest dam and generate three times the energy of the Three Gorges Dam, raising water concerns in India and Bangladesh.
• China also plans a railway connecting Tibet and Xinjiang, while its disputed border with India remains strategically sensitive.
• Rights groups and Tibetan exiles describe restrictions on religion, language and cultural life as erosion of Tibetan identity. Beijing says its policies deliver stability and better living standards.