New Delhi, July 6 — China has reiterated its claim over the succession process of the Dalai Lama, dismissing international involvement and asserting the matter is entirely an internal affair. Responding to recent statements from Indian officials on religious freedom and the autonomy of Tibetan traditions, China’s Ambassador to India Xu Feihong said on Sunday that “no external interference will be allowed” in the reincarnation process.
“The reincarnation and succession of the Dalai Lama is inherently an internal affair of China,” Xu posted on X (formerly Twitter). “The Chinese government opposes any attempts by overseas organisations or individuals to interfere in or dictate the reincarnation process.”
The comments came days after India’s Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), without taking a position on the reincarnation issue, affirmed the country’s constitutional stance. “The Government of India does not take any position or speak on matters concerning beliefs and practices of faith and religion… Government has always upheld freedom of religion for all in India and will continue to do so,” an MEA spokesperson said on July 4.
Earlier, Union Minority Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju had weighed in, stating that only the Dalai Lama and his spiritual institution have the authority to decide his successor, not any external entity.
Ambassador Xu countered this by emphasizing that Tibetan Buddhism — referred to by Beijing as originating from China’s Qinghai-Tibet Plateau — remains under the jurisdiction of the Chinese state. He insisted that Xizang (the Chinese name for Tibet) is an “inalienable part” of China, and that the lineage of Dalai Lamas evolved within the framework of Chinese governance.
“The religious status and titles are the prerogative of the central government of China,” he said. “The Chinese government upholds the principle of independence and self-governance in religious affairs and administers the reincarnation of Living Buddhas, including that of the Dalai Lama, in accordance with the law.”
Beijing has long maintained that the process of reincarnating Tibetan spiritual leaders, including the Dalai Lama, must follow the “Golden Urn” procedure, codified into Chinese law in 2007, and receive approval from the central government.
The succession of the 14th Dalai Lama, Tenzin Gyatso, who fled to India in 1959 and continues to live in exile in Dharamsala, remains a flashpoint between China and the Tibetan exile community. On July 2, the Dalai Lama explicitly rejected China’s claim, stating that the authority to recognize his reincarnation rests solely with the Gaden Phodrang Trust, his spiritual institution.
As the 14th Dalai Lama marked his 90th birthday on July 6, the debate over succession is growing increasingly geopolitical, with the U.S., India, and Tibetan leaders pushing back against Beijing’s assertions of religious control.
