On May 23, 1951, a five-member delegation from Tibet and China's Central Government signed the "Agreement of the Central People's Government and the Local Government of Tibet on Measures for the Peaceful Liberation of Tibet", or for short, the Seventeen-Point Agreement. Later, this agreement would be regarded as the basis for tyrannical rule of Tibet by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP).

After the founding of the People's Republic of China in 1949, Radio Beijing announced that the People's Republic of China would liberate Tibet, Xinjiang, and other territory of China. After that point, the CCP's People's Liberation Army gradually invaded and occupied the eastern part of Tibet by force. The relationship between the two sides became increasingly tense. The Tibetan government also sent representatives to negotiate with the Chinese side. In the end, the two sides failed to reach an agreement on the issue of sovereignty, and negotiations were at a standstill.

On October 7, 1950, the People's Liberation Army (PLA) launched the Battle of Chamdo. The more than 8,000 Tibetan troops were insufficient to stand up to the much more numerous PLA. The Tibetan troops were defeated 19 days later. The Chinese army captured Chamdo as well as the then-Governor of Chamdo, Ngapoi Ngawang Jigme. At the time, India, the United Kingdom, the US, and other countries all condemned the Chinese Communist Party's actions. The Tibetan government also submitted a report to the United Nations, hoping that the United Nations would provide Tibet with the support it needed. However, the Indian representative, considering India's relationship with China, did not put this issue on the agenda. Several attempts by Tibet to appeal for help were also unsuccessful.

In April 1951, a five-member negotiating delegation led by Ngapoi Ngawang Jigme went to Beijing. On May 23, the five-member delegation signed the Seventeen-Point Agreement on behalf of the Tibetan government; they did this without reporting to the Tibetan government first. Article 4 of the agreement stated: "The central government will not change the current political system in Tibet." Hence, the agreement has been viewed as the CCP's first commitment to a "one country, two systems" principle.

News that the delegation had signed the agreement made it back to Tibet, which inspired some consternation. However, in consideration of long-term interests, the Dalai Lama still expressed to Mao Zedong on October 24 that he would support the Seventeen-Point Agreement. Two days later, the People's Liberation Army entered Lhasa. The CCP has since then labeled this action as a "peaceful liberation".

However, within a few years, the CCP began violating the provisions of the Seventeen-Point Agreement; the "one country, two systems" principle existed in name only. After large-scale riots broke out in Tibetan areas in 1959, the Dalai Lama went into exile in India. In a reiterated statement on June 20, he said that the Seventeen-Point Agreement had only been signed by the Tibetan government and the Tibetan people "by the threat of arms"; the Dalai Lama also said that the Chinese Central Government had also failed to comply with the agreement, and declared the Seventeen-Point Agreement to be invalid.

Reference Materials: 《中華人民共和國史（第四卷）：烏托邦運動──從大躍進到大饑荒（1958-1961）》("History of the People's Republic of China, vol. 4: Utopian Movements — From the Great Leap Forward to the Great Famine (1958-1961)")(Chinese); [藏人行政中央("Central Tibetan Administration")(Chinese)] (https://xizang-zhiye.org/關於十七條協議/); [自由亞洲電台("Radio Free Asia")(Chinese)] (https://www.rfa.org/cantonese/news/cn-tibet-03102021134816.html)