From Qianlong to Deng Xiaoping: Tracing the Roots of ‘One Country, Two Systems’ to 1957 Tibet

Opinion | Tracing the Origins of Deng Xiaoping’s ‘One Country, Two Systems’ to 1957 Tibet

Looking back, the framework of one country, two systems seems to echo an approach from the Qianlong era that Deng and his contemporaries examined in 1957.

In 1957, half a decade following the signing of the Seventeen-Point Agreement between Beijing and Lhasa, Tibet was recognized as a component of the People’s Republic of China, also affirming its autonomous status.

Soon after, conflicts began to escalate between the two groups. The core administration attributed this tension in part to the drastic actions taken by certain Communist leaders to transform Tibet's social and political structures.

Deng and his team examined historical texts for guidance. Among the most significant was the Twenty-Nine Article Ordinance for the More Effective Governance of Tibet, a royal edict decreed by Emperor Qianlong of the Qing dynasty in 1793.