Foreign relations of Tibet: Encyclopedia II - Foreign relations of Tibet - The trade delegation of 1947

Foreign relations of Tibet - The trade delegation of 1947

In 1947 the Tibetan foreign office began planning a trade delegation to visit India, China, the United States and Britain. Initial overtures were made to the US embassy in India requesting meetings with President Truman and other US officials to discuss trade. This request was forwarded to Washington but the State Department proved willing only to meet with the Tibetans on an informal basis. The delegation consisted of 4 persons, Tsipon Shakabpa, Tibet's chief financial officer, Padatsang and two others including a monk.

Armed with the first Tibetan passports the delegation went first to New Dehli meeting with Prime Minister Nehru and Mahatma Gandhi. Most foreign trade from Tibet passed through India and it was the practice of the Indian government to convert any foreign currencies received into rupees before payment to Tibet. The Tibetans were unable to negotiate any change in this practice which would have put hard currency into their hands. One of the goals of the trade delegation was to obtain gold or other solid backing for Tibetan currency.

It was the Chinese position that a Chinese passport was required. These were issued and the delegation entered China at Hong Kong using them and spend 3 months in China. For the next leg of the journey to the United States and Britain the Chinese took the position that they would only issue exit visas on the Chinese passports. However the Tibets managed to get a British consular officer in Nanking to issue a British visa on their Tibetan passports and again a US officer in Hong Kong thus defeating the efforts of the US State Department and the British Foreign Office to deny use of the Tibetan passports, a small victory for the supposedly unsophisticated Tibetans.

The delegation arrived in San Francisco in July, 1948 where they were met by the British Consul. They traveled by train to Washington where despite strong objections by the Chinese and reassurance that the United States recognized China's de jure sovereignty over Tibet the Tibetans were received by the Secretary of State, George Marshall. There was some language in the State Department's negotiations with the Chinese which noted that they exerted no de facto control over Tibet and noted the traditional American principle of favoring self-determination but no more definite statement was made regarding Tibetan sovereignty.

They requested aid from the United States in convincing India to free up their hard currency earning and also for permission to purchase gold from the United States for a currency reserve. They received no help on their problem with India but were given permission to purchase up to 50,000 ounces of gold.

Not meeting with President Truman they proceeded on to New York where they were greeted by their old friend, Ilya Tolstoy, who introduced them around. They met with Lowell Thomas who was interested in visiting Tibet and Dwight Eisenhower, then president of Columbia University and other eastern establishment personalities as well as Prince Peter of Greece and Denmark who had an interest in Tibet.

In November the delegation set sail for Britain where they spent 3 weeks but were received coolly. Returning through India they were able to free up some foreign exchange for the purchase of gold and adding money of their own effected a purchase of $425,800 in gold which was transported to Tibet by pack animals.

Being received more warmly in the United States than in Britain with whom they had a long established relationship set the stage for later expansion of the relationship with the United States as they attempted to deal with later Chinese efforts to reassert effective control.

Adapted from the Wikipedia article "The trade delegation of 1947", under the G.N U Free Docmentation License. Please also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki