On April 29, 1951, plenipotentiary representatives of the Central Government and the local government of Tibet began negotiations at the Military Control Commission in Beijing.
　　The plenipotentiary representatives of the Central Government were Chief Representative Li Weihan (Head of the United Front Work Department of the CPC Central Committee and Minister in Charge of the Ethnic Affairs 　　Commission of the Central People's Government) and Representatives Zhang Jingwu (Director of the General Office of the Central Military Commission), Zhang Guohua (Secretary of the Tibet Work Committee of the Central People's Government and Commander of the PLA 18th Corps) and Sun Zhiyuan (Secretary-General of the Southwestern Military and Administrative Commission). The interpreter was Poncog Wanggyai.
　　The plenipotentiary representatives of the local government of Tibet were Chief RepreNentative Ngapoi Ngawang iigmei (a Galoon government official of Tibet) and Representatives Kemo Soinam Wangdui (the Commander-in-Chief of the Tibetan armed forces) Tubdain Dainda (Secretary-General). Tuden Legmoin (an official of the Tibetan government) and Sampo Denzen Toinzhu (an official of the Tibetan government). The interpreter was Puncog Zhaxi.
Altogether six rounds of formal talks were held between April 29 and May 21. Also, representatives of the Central Government made great efforts to unite the Tibetan representatives with the 10th Panchen Erdeni and explain to them all Party policies, which promoted. to a certain extent the smooth progress of the
negotiations.
　　Representatives of the Central Government stuck to the set principle of the Communist Party on Tibet. The 10-Article Agreement on the Liberation of Tibet, examined and approved by Chairman Mao Zedong and Premier Zhou Fnlai in August 1950, was the theoretical basis of The Notice on PLA's Entrv Into Tibet and the ongoing negotiations. The Central Government pointed out, The Tibetans must expel the British and American forces and assist the PLA as it enters and stations in Tibet. The Central Government accepts and protects the political and religious systems of Tibet, including the status of the Dalai Lama, and the existing armed forces, customs and traditions."
Although there was a great disparity in views between the two parties at the outset of the negotiations, the six rounds of talks were conducted under a friendly atmosphere and agreement was reached on the major issues within only one month.
　　The first round of talks was held on April 29, which was intended as a preparatory meeting preceding the formal talks. At the meeting. Li Weihan, the Chief Representative of the Central Government, said, "In our negotiations on the peaceful liberation of Tibet. we need not adhere to formalities. We may voice any of our ideas, whatever they may be. We should be open and frank and negotiate in all sincerity." He suggested all representatives at the meeting study The Common Program and The 10-Article Agreement on the Liberation of Tibet. Ngapoi Ngawang Jigmei, the chief representative of the local government of Tibet, said, "We shall report honestly the opinions of the Tibetan government to the Central Government."
　　On May 2, the second round of talks was held. Both parties negotiated matters concerning the stationing of the PLA in Tibet. Li Weihan said Tibet was part of the Chinese territory. Therefore, it was necessary for the PLA to enter Tibet and protect the country's boundary. securing Chinese defenses and preventing invasions by the imperialists. Ngapoi Ngawang Jigmei said the Tibetan government acknowledged that Tibet was part of the Chinese territory and was politically united internally. But he went on to say the Tibetan authorities refused to allow the PLA troops to be stationed in Tibet because Tibet was bordered by the inland areas to the east and north, and India to the south. He argued that the Tibetan authorities saw no potential threat from India, so the border could be adequately protected by the Tibetan troops. He went on to say that in the event that hostilities were to break out along the Tibet-India border, the PLA would be invited into Tibet. He also suggested the reorganization of the Tibetan armed forces as an independent force of the PLA, presenting to the world a unified military structure but allowing the Tibetan forces a level of autonomy.
　　Li Weihan pointed out, "It is an undeniable fact that Tibet has been a victim of invasions by the imperialists, and India has taken over the prerogatives of the imperialists of England. Moreover, there are no national defense provisions at all in Tibet, and the Tibetan troops are actually deployed as if to defend Tibet from the hinterland. Building a nation's defenses is not an easy task. Transportation in Tibet is not convenient. If anything were to happen along the border, it would be difficult for the PLA to arrive in time to aid the Tibetan forces. There is no real obstacle to reorganizing the Tibetan troops as part of the PLA, but we all know the Tibetan forces are not adequately trained nor armed. Since the government of Tibet has acknowledged that Tibet is part of China, why do you hesitate to allow the powerful PLA forces to be deployed in defense of our national borders? Isn't this a contradiction?" Representatives of the Central Government answered questions concerning the nature and discipline of the PLA and the logistics of supplying the troops once they were stationed in Tibet. By this time, the Tibetan representatives had admitted the above mentioned contradictions. Ngapoi Ngawang Jigmei said the delegation had no objections to the stationing of troops and that they thought it was correct, but the decision-making power belonged to the Tibetan government. He made inquiries about the number of people, schedule, route, locations and supply provisions for the PLA soldiers entering Tibet, requesting the Central Government provide these details so that he could report to the Tibetan government.
　　The third round of talks was held on the morning of May 7,dealing with questions concerning the stationing of the PLA troops. The Tibetan delegation hoped to cut the number of PLA troops to be stationed in Tibet and insisted the troops stationed in Lhasa should be limited and that the Tibetan troops could not be reorganized immediately. The representatives of the Central Government assured him the PLA troops stationed in Tibet would be no more than one corps also saying the majority of these troops would be stationed along the border and along important routes of transportation and communication. Only a small number of troops were to be stationed in Lhasa, and the reorganization of the Tibetan troops would be conducted in a planned way and following several steps. The representatives of the Tibetan government were satisfied with this reply. Then the talks shifted to political affairs. The representatives from both sides emphatically discussed The 10-Artic1e Agreement on the Liberation of Tibet, carefully examining the relationships between some of the articles, talking over those articles that might lend to different interpretations. exchanging to the fullest extent their opinions and expressing their views. The Tibetan representatives indicated that they had no oppositions to Articles 1, 4 and 5 of the Agreement. questioned the consistency of Articles 2 (implementing regional ethnic autonomy in Tibet) and 3 (guaranteeing the various existing political systems of Tibet and the current status and authority of the Dalai Lama), and suggested Article 8 (the question of reforming the old systems of Tibet) should be presented for discussion to the people of Tibet.
　　The fourth round of negotiations was held on May 10, during which Li Weihan replied to the questions posed by Tibetan representatives. He said. "The implementation of regional ethnic autonomy is our basic policy for resolving ethnic problems, and in the case of Tibet, we are going to carry out regional ethnic autonomy. The policy of not changing the existing political systems is determined by the present concrete conditions of Tibet. In the case that the Tibetan people wish to change these, actions should be taken by the Tibetan side. Therefore, Articles 2 and 3 are not contradictory." He then expressed his approval of the proposal for the amendment of Article 8. The Tibetan representatives were satisfied with these interpretations of The 10-Article Agreement on tile Liberation of Tibet. Ngapoi Ngawang iigmei said he had no different opinions about The 10-Article Agreement on the Liberation of Tibet. After an understanding was reached in negotiations over The 10-Article Agreement on the Liberation of Tibet, the talks shifted to negotiations concerning other major problems. The next phase of negotiations was concentrated on two problems: the return of the 10th Panchen Erdeni to Tibet and the establishment of the Military and Administrative Commission. The Tibetan representatives said these two proposals were quite abrupt since they were not included in the Agreement. They wanted time to seek instructions from the Tibetan government.
　　Representative of the Central Government suggested two people Should be chosen from each side to conduct a special study. On May 17, Li Weihan addressed the questions of the Tibetan representatives concerning the role, authority and staffing of the Military and Administrative Commission. With regard to the question of the 10th Panchen Erdeni, Li Weihan systematically expounded his opinion concerning the historical and social changes in Tibet over several centuries, the contlicts between the 14th Dalai Lama and the 10th Panchen Erdeni, which he believed were due to discord sown by the imperialist countries and the instigation and separatist actions of the reactionary government of China. and the relations between the Tibetan government and the motherland. Concerning the doubts and prejudices of some Tibetan representatives. he expounded the Central Government's principle of enhancing ethnic solidarity. He said, if the 14th Dalai Lama and the 10th Panchen Erdeni could not end their feud and get along with each other, there would be no satisfactory solution to the problems of Tibet. The Tibetan representatives then telegrammed the Tibetan government to ask for further instructions.
　　On May 18, the Tibetan delegation received a telegram from the 14th Dalai Lama, which expressed his approval of including the question of the 10th Panchen Erdeni in the negotiations.
　　On May 20, the fifth round of talks was held to discuss the question of the 10th Panchen Erdeni.
　　On May 21, the sixth round of talks was held, which marked the end of the negotiations. During the previous rounds of negotiation, agreement was reached on all major problems. The agreements were placed in formal documents after the meetings. The final round of talks was, however. concentrated on studying technical problems, such as the differences in rhetoric between the Chinese and Tibetan languages, the selection of words. and E the editing of the documents.
　　A Central Government representative said, "We have done very meaningful
work for all the people of our country and for the Tibetan people in particular. The effects of these documents will be shown in the long run. Great changes will take place in the lives of the Tibetan people from now on. All of you who are seated here today have added an epoch-making touch to the history books of Tibet."
　　A Tibetan representative replied, "I am truly grateful to the Central Government for their efforts in bringing about these results to the negotiations."
The 10th Panchen Erdeni Qoigyi Glyaincain was in Beijing during the course of the negotiations. And the representatives heard his opinions concerning the negotiations before the final agreement was reached.