Bhutan–China Relations
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Bhutan–China relations are the
international relations International relations (IR, and also referred to as international studies, international politics, or international affairs) is an academic discipline. In a broader sense, the study of IR, in addition to multilateral relations, concerns al ...
between the
Kingdom of Bhutan Bhutan, officially the Kingdom of Bhutan, is a landlocked country in South Asia, in the Eastern Himalayas between China to the north and northwest and India to the south and southeast. With a population of over 727,145 and a territory of , ...
and the
People's Republic of China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...
. As of present, Bhutan and China do not share an official diplomatic relationship with one another. Historically, Bhutan has followed a path of
isolationism Isolationism is a term used to refer to a political philosophy advocating a foreign policy that opposes involvement in the political affairs, and especially the wars, of other countries. Thus, isolationism fundamentally advocates neutrality an ...
and non-alignment extending from the
Cold War The Cold War was a period of global Geopolitics, geopolitical rivalry between the United States (US) and the Soviet Union (USSR) and their respective allies, the capitalist Western Bloc and communist Eastern Bloc, which lasted from 1947 unt ...
era to the present day. Bhutan's lack of formal diplomatic relations extend far beyond China; Bhutan does not have an official diplomatic relationship with any of the other four permanent member states of the
United Nations Security Council The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) is one of the six principal organs of the United Nations (UN) and is charged with ensuring international peace and security, recommending the admission of new UN members to the General Assembly, an ...
. Geographically, Bhutan is sandwiched between the two neighbouring states of
India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...
to the south and China to the north and northeast. The Bhutan–China border runs approximately 477 km across very mountainous Himalayan terrain, connecting northern regions of Bhutan on the south of the border with the
Tibet Autonomous Region The Tibet Autonomous Region (TAR), often shortened to Tibet in English or Xizang in Pinyin, Hanyu Pinyin, is an Autonomous regions of China, autonomous region of the China, People's Republic of China. It was established in 1965 to replace the ...
of China north of the border. The Bhutan–China border is porous and poorly demarcated, and has been a source of long running tension between the two states. Territorial disputes with Bhutan have been a source of potential conflict. Since 1984, the two governments have conducted regular talks on border and security issues to reduce tensions.


Background

Bhutan has long had strong cultural, historical, religious, and economic connections to
Tibet Tibet (; ''Böd''; ), or Greater Tibet, is a region in the western part of East Asia, covering much of the Tibetan Plateau and spanning about . It is the homeland of the Tibetan people. Also resident on the plateau are other ethnic groups s ...
. Bhutan was a tributary state of the
Qing dynasty The Qing dynasty ( ), officially the Great Qing, was a Manchu-led Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China and an early modern empire in East Asia. The last imperial dynasty in Chinese history, the Qing dynasty was preceded by the ...
. The
Republic of China Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia. The main geography of Taiwan, island of Taiwan, also known as ''Formosa'', lies between the East China Sea, East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocea ...
officially maintains a territorial claim on parts of Bhutan.Bhutan - China relations
Accessed 30 May 2008.
Relations with Tibet were strained when China took over Tibet in the 1950s. Unlike Tibet, Bhutan had no history of being under the
suzerainty A suzerain (, from Old French "above" + "supreme, chief") is a person, state (polity)">state or polity who has supremacy and dominant influence over the foreign policy">polity.html" ;"title="state (polity)">state or polity">state (polity)">st ...
or direct rule of China but fell under British suzerainty during the
British Raj The British Raj ( ; from Hindustani language, Hindustani , 'reign', 'rule' or 'government') was the colonial rule of the British The Crown, Crown on the Indian subcontinent, * * lasting from 1858 to 1947. * * It is also called Crown rule ...
following the
Treaty of Punakha The Treaty of Punakha was an agreement signed on 8 January 1910, at Punakha Dzong between the recently consolidated Kingdom of Bhutan and British India. The Treaty of Punakha is not a stand-alone document, but represents a modification of the T ...
in 1910. Bhutan's border with Tibet has never been officially demarcated. The territorial claim was maintained by the People's Republic of China after the
Chinese Communist Party The Communist Party of China (CPC), also translated into English as Chinese Communist Party (CCP), is the founding and One-party state, sole ruling party of the People's Republic of China (PRC). Founded in 1921, the CCP emerged victorious in the ...
took control of mainland China in the
Chinese Civil War The Chinese Civil War was fought between the Kuomintang-led Nationalist government, government of the Republic of China (1912–1949), Republic of China and the forces of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). Armed conflict continued intermitt ...
. With the increase in soldiers on the Chinese side of the Sino-Bhutanese border after the 17-point agreement between the Tibetan government and the central government of the PRC, Bhutan withdrew its representative from
Lhasa Lhasa, officially the Chengguan District of Lhasa City, is the inner urban district of Lhasa (city), Lhasa City, Tibet Autonomous Region, Southwestern China. Lhasa is the second most populous urban area on the Tibetan Plateau after Xining ...
. (source can also be found at the
Library of Congress The Library of Congress (LOC) is a research library in Washington, D.C., serving as the library and research service for the United States Congress and the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It also administers Copyright law o ...
website

The
1959 Tibetan uprising The 1959 Tibetan uprising or Lhasa uprising began on 10 March 1959 as a series of protests in the Tibetan capital of Lhasa, fueled by fears that the Chinese government planned to arrest the Dalai Lama. Over the next ten days, the demonstratio ...
and the
14th Dalai Lama The 14th Dalai Lama (born 6 July 1935; full spiritual name: Jetsun Jamphel Ngawang Lobsang Yeshe Tenzin Gyatso, shortened as Tenzin Gyatso; ) is the incumbent Dalai Lama, the highest spiritual leader and head of Tibetan Buddhism. He served a ...
's arrival in neighboring
India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...
made the security of Bhutan's border with China a necessity for Bhutan. An estimated 6,000 Tibetans fled to Bhutan and were granted
asylum Asylum may refer to: Types of asylum * Asylum (antiquity), places of refuge in ancient Greece and Rome * Benevolent asylum, a 19th-century Australian institution for housing the destitute * Cities of Refuge, places of refuge in ancient Judea * ...
, although Bhutan subsequently closed its northern border with China, fearing more refugees.Bhutan: a land frozen in time
(9 February 1998). BBC. Accessed May 30, 2008.
Bhutan–China relations are constrained also by Bhutan's close relationship with India. Nonetheless, relations with China have improved following China's
Belt and Road Initiative The Belt and Road Initiative (BRI or B&R), known in China as the One Belt One Road and sometimes referred to as the New Silk Road, is a global infrastructure development strategy adopted by the government of China in 2013 to invest in more t ...
. Generally, Bhutan seeks balance with its larger neighbors China and India in order to avoid dependency on either country.


History

Bhutan has historical ties to
Tibet Tibet (; ''Böd''; ), or Greater Tibet, is a region in the western part of East Asia, covering much of the Tibetan Plateau and spanning about . It is the homeland of the Tibetan people. Also resident on the plateau are other ethnic groups s ...
through their culture, history, religion, and economy. However, their relationship became tense after Bhutan supported the
British Empire The British Empire comprised the dominions, Crown colony, colonies, protectorates, League of Nations mandate, mandates, and other Dependent territory, territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom and its predecessor states. It bega ...
and the
British invasion of Tibet The British expedition to Tibet, also known as the Younghusband expedition, began in December 1903 and lasted until September 1904. The expedition was effectively a temporary invasion by British Indian Armed Forces under the auspices of the Ti ...
. With the signing of an agreement between the People's Republic of China and the Tibetan locals, and the deployment of troops on the border between China and Bhutan, Bhutan withdrew its representatives in the People's Republic of China from Lhasa. After the 1959 Tibetan riots and the arrival of the Dalai Lama in neighbouring India, some 6,000 Tibetans fled to Bhutan and were granted asylum. Bhutan closed its border with China, afraid that there would be more refugees.


Boundary issues

With the entry of the People's Liberation Army into Tibet, some Tibetan settlements in western Tibet, formerly controlled by the Bhutanese government, came under the control of the People's Republic of China. While some sources believe that the Bhutan–China border was settled in a secret agreement during 1961, neither country has ever publicly acknowledged such an agreement. In the 1980s, Bhutan relinquished its claim to a 154-square-mile area called Kula Khari on its northern border with China. In 1998, the two countries signed a peace and tranquility agreement, although border disputes remain. A 2002 official statement by the King of Bhutan to the National Assembly, specifies that there are still four disputed areas between Bhutan and China. The two countries signed a memorandum of understanding in 2022 to begin the process of settling the border. In 2023, Bhutanese foreign minister
Tandi Dorji Tandi Dorji (, ; born 2 September 1968) is a Bhutanese politician who served as Foreign Minister for Bhutan from November 2018 to 2024. He was a member of the National Assembly of Bhutan from October 2018 to November 2023. Education He holds an ...
met with Chinese foreign minister
Wang Yi Wang Yi ( zh, s=王毅, p=Wáng Yì; born 19 October 1953) is a Chinese diplomat and politician who has been serving as Director of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) Central Committee Foreign Affairs Commission Office since January 2023, and ...
and Chinese Vice President
Han Zheng Han Zheng (; born April 1954) is a Chinese politician who since 2023 has served as the 11th Vice President of China, vice president of China. He previously served as the Vice Premier of China, first-ranking vice premier of China between 2018 and ...
where both sides indicated hopes to resolve the border dispute and develop formal ties. In 2025, Bhutan referred to Tibet as "Xizang" in an official statement, sparking criticism from Tibetan groups alleging that the term erases Tibetan identity.


Mitigation

In 1974, Bhutan invited Ma Muming,
chargé d'affaires A (), plural ''chargés d'affaires'', often shortened to ''chargé'' (French) and sometimes in colloquial English to ''charge-D'', is a diplomat who serves as an embassy's chief of mission in the absence of the ambassador. The term is Frenc ...
of the Chinese Embassy in India, to attend the coronation of the fourth Bhutanese King
Jigme Singye Wangchuck Jigme Singye Wangchuck (, ; born 11 November 1955) is the fourth Druk Gyalpo ( Dragon King) of Bhutan, reigning from 1972 to 2006. He is the father of the present King of Bhutan Jigme Khesar Namgyal Wangchuck. He is the only son of five ch ...
. In 1983, Chinese Foreign Minister Wu Xueqian and Bhutanese Foreign Minister
Dawa Tsering Dawa Tsering served as Minister of Foreign Affairs of Bhutan in the 1980s and 1990s, carrying out negotiations to improve Sino-Bhutanese relations. He also worked to strengthen the close relations with the Government of India. Life and career ...
held talks in New York on establishing bilateral relations. In 1984, China and Bhutan began direct negotiations on the border dispute. In 1998, China and Bhutan signed an ''Agreement to Maintain Peace and Tranquility'' on the Bhutan–China border. The two sides also proposed the
Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence The Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence () are the Chinese government's foreign relations principles first mentioned in the 1954 Sino-Indian Agreement. Also known as Panchsheel (Hindi for "five principles"), these principles were subseque ...
.India and the upcoming Druk democracy
(May 2007). HimalMag.com. Accessed May 30, 2008.
Bhutan Gazette
(7 June 2007). BhutanGazette. They were accessed on May 30, 2008.
However, China later built roads in the territory claimed by Bhutan, and China was accused of violating the agreement and provoking tension. In 2024, ''
The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...
'' reported that, according to
satellite imagery Satellite images (also Earth observation imagery, spaceborne photography, or simply satellite photo) are images of Earth collected by imaging satellites operated by governments and businesses around the world. Satellite imaging companies sell im ...
, China had constructed villages inside of disputed territory within Bhutan. Chinese individuals, called "border guardians," received annual subsidies to relocate to newly built villages and paid to conduct border patrols. At least 22 Chinese villages and settlements have been constructed inside of disputed territory.


See also

*
Bhutan–India relations The bilateral relations between the Himalayas, Himalayan Bhutan, Kingdom of Bhutan and the India, Republic of India have been traditionally close and both countries share a "special relationship (international relations), special relationship", ...
*
Five Fingers of Tibet The Five Fingers of Tibet () was a Chinese territorial claim to the Himalayan region bordering India attributed to Mao Zedong. It considers Tibet to be China's right hand palm, with five fingers on its periphery: Ladakh, Nepal, Sikkim, Bhutan, an ...
, claims to Bhutan and other nearby territories made by PRC leader
Mao Zedong Mao Zedong pronounced ; traditionally Romanization of Chinese, romanised as Mao Tse-tung. (26December 18939September 1976) was a Chinese politician, revolutionary, and political theorist who founded the People's Republic of China (PRC) in ...
*
Territorial disputes of the People's Republic of China This article is about territorial disputes of the People's Republic of China (PRC). A territorial dispute is a disagreement over the possession or control of land between two or more political entities. Many of China's territorial disputes resul ...


References


Further reading

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Bhutan - People's Republic of China Relations
China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...
Bilateral relations of China