In 1904, after the
British invasion of Tibet resulting in the exile of
the 13th Dalai Lama, Britain signed the
Convention of Lhasa with the
Kashag and delegations of three major Tibetan monasteries. However,
Qing Empire considered the convention "damaging to state sovereignty" and refused to ratify it. In order to gain Chinese acceptance, subsequent negotiations were held in
Calcutta in February 1905. During the negotiations, the Chinese representative,
Tang Shaoyi, insisted that Britain recognize China's
sovereignty over Tibet. However, the British representative maintained that China held only
suzerainty over the region. This fundamental disagreement prevented the two sides from reaching a consensus. After the
Liberals took office in December 1905, the British government adopted a
non-interference policy on Tibet and returned to the negotiating table in April 1906 in
Peking. On April 27th, the two parties officially signed the treaty. Under the agreement, Britain consented to refrain from occupying Tibetan territories or interfering in Tibet's political affairs, while China retained the right to govern Tibet's
internal affairs, and ensured that no other
foreign powers would interfere in Tibetan matters. == Aftermath ==