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{{Short description|Agreement on trade relations between India and the Tibet region of China}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2024}}
The '''1954 Sino-Indian Agreement''', also called the '''Panchsheel Agreement''',{{sfnp|Raghavan, War and Peace in Modern India|2010|pp=240–243}} officially the '''Agreement on Trade and Intercourse Between Tibet Region and India''', was signed by China and India in [[Peking]] on 29 April 1954. The preamble of the agreement stated the ''panchsheel'', or the [[five principles of peaceful coexistence]], that China proposed and India favoured. The agreement reflected the adjustment of the previously existing trade relations between Tibet and India to the changed context of India's [[Independence of India|decolonisation]] and China's [[Annexation of Tibet|assertion of suzerainty]] over Tibet. [[Bertil Lintner]] writes that in the agreement, "Tibet was referred to, for the first time in history, as 'the Tibet Region of China'".<ref>{{Cite book |last=Lintner |first=Bertil |title=Great Game East : India, China And The Struggle For Asia's Most VolatileFrontier |publisher=HarperCollins Publishers India |year=2012 |isbn=978-93-5029-536-6 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=tbfjAAAAQBAJ&q=Sino%E2%80%93Indian+Agreement+1954&pg=PT2 |at=Introduction}}</ref>

The agreement expired on 6 June 1962, as per the original term limit, in the midst of the [[Sino-Indian border dispute|Sino-Indian border tensions]]. It was not renewed. By October of that year, [[Sino-Indian War|war]] broke out between the two sides.<ref>
{{harvp|Lintner, China's India War|2018|pp=142–143}}: "But the Agreement on Trade and Intercourse between Tibet Region of China and India, which was concluded in 1954, expired on 6 June 1962, and, at a time when tension was mounting along the frontier, there was no interest on either side to have the agreement extended."</ref>

== Background ==
The background of the 1954 Agreement includes the [[Convention of Calcutta]] (between Britain and China, concerning Tibet), the [[Convention of Lhasa]] (between Britain and Tibet), the [[Convention Between Great Britain and China Respecting Tibet]], the [[Anglo-Russian Convention]], Anglo Chinese trade regulations of 1908 and 1914, the [[McMahon Line]] agreement between Tibet and British Raj, the failure of the Tibetan appeal to the UN, the [[Seventeen Point Agreement|Seven Point Agreement 1951]] (between China and the [[Ganden Phodrang]] government of Tibet), the Sino-India negotiations concerning Tibet, 1951 to 1953, and the Sino–India conference on Tibetan trade and intercourse, December 1953 to April 1954.<ref name=":0" />{{Clarification needed|reason=This laundry list is hardly useful without any explanatory content; also this is over-reliance on a single source|date=July 2022}}

=== Negotiations regarding inclusion of passes ===
In December 1953, the Sino–India conference on Tibetan trade and intercourse started. During the negotiations related to which passes to include, Indian diplomats were successful in the inclusion of only six passes. India tried putting forward other passes, but did not push China and backed away after China showed resistance.<ref name=":2">{{Cite web|last=Arpi|first=Claude|author-link=Claude Arpi|date=2020-08-28|title=The History of Barahoti Plain|url=https://www.claudearpi.net/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/The-History-of-Barahoti.pdf|access-date=2020-11-24|website=Claude Arpi}}</ref> The Chinese also objected to the mention of Demchok as one of the passes.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Arpi|first=Claude|date=August 2015|title=The Panchsheel Agreement (Book Excerpt: Tibet – The Lost Frontier)|url=http://www.indiandefencereview.com/spotlights/the-panchsheel-agreement/|access-date=2020-11-24|website=Indian Defence Review|language=en-US}}</ref>

According to [[Claude Arpi]], the passes/routes mentioned by Delhi were:<ref name=":2" />{{better source needed|date=February 2021|reason=Another citation would be beneficial}}

{{Quote|text={{Div col|colwidth=20em|content=
* [[Tashigang, Ngari Prefecture|Tashigong]], [[Gartok]];
* [[Spanggur Tso]] To [[Rudok]];
* [[Chiakang]], [[Churkang]], [[Ruksom]];
* [[Tashigang, Ngari Prefecture|Tashigong]], [[Churkang]], [[Ruksom]];
* [[Rudok]], [[Ruksom]], [[Rawang, Ngari Prefecture|Rawang]];
* [[Bodpo La]];
* [[Shipki La]];
* Keobarang;
* Shimdang;
* Gumrang (Khimokul);
* [[Tsang Chok La]];
* Muling La;
* [[Mana Pass]];
* [[Niti Pass]];
* [[Tunjun La]];
* Marhi La;
* [[Shalshal Pass]];
* [[Kungri Bingri Pass]];
* [[Darma Pass]];
* [[Lampiya Dhura]] (Lampiya Lekh);
* [[Mangsha Dhura]] and
* [[Lipulekh]].
|small=80%|gap=}}|author=|title=|source=}}

== Summary of agreement ==

=== Preamble ===
The [[Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence]] or Panchsheel upon which the articles of the treaty were based on are listed as:<ref name=":1">{{Cite web|title=Tibet Justice Center – Legal Materials on Tibet – China – Sino-Indian Trade Agreement over Tibetan Border (1954) [p. 185]|url=https://www.tibetjustice.org/materials/china/china4.html|access-date=2020-11-09|website=www.tibetjustice.org}}</ref>

# mutual respect for each other's territorial integrity and sovereignty,
# mutual non-aggression,
# mutual non-interference in each other's internal affairs,
# equality and mutual benefit, and
# peaceful co-existing

=== Articles ===
Article I of the agreement paved the way for the establishment of Chinese trade agencies in [[New Delhi]], [[Calcutta]], and [[Kalimpong]] and Indian trade Agencies at [[Yatung]], [[Gyantse]], and [[Gartok]]. These trade agencies "would enjoy freedom from arrest while exercising their functions", among other privileges.<ref name=":1" />

Article II stated that traders of both countries would trade at pre-determined places. "The Government of China agrees to specify Yatung, Gyantse, and [[Phari]] as markets for trade. The Government of India agrees that trade may be carried on in India, including places like, Kalimpong, [[Siliguri]], and Calcutta, according to customary practice." Also, the "Government of China agrees to specify Gartok, [[Burang Town|Pulanchung]] (Taklakot), [[Gya'nyima|Gyanima]]-Khargo, Gyanima-Chakra, [[Ramura]], [[Dongbra]], Puling-Sumdo, Nabra, [[Shangtse]], and [[Tashigang, Ngari Prefecture|Tashigong]] as markets for trade"; and in the future the Government of India shall specify markets "on the basis of equality and reciprocity to do so".<ref name=":1" />

Article III covered pilgrimages by religious believers of the two countries and outlined certain provisions for pilgrims of both countries.<ref name=":1" />

Article IV pointed out some passes and routes which traders and pilgrims may use: [[Shipki La]] pass, [[Mana Pass|Mana pass]], [[Niti Pass|Niti pass]], [[Kungri Bingri]] pass, [[Darma Valley|Dharma]] pass, and [[Lipulekh Pass|Lipu Lekh]] pass.<ref name=":1" />

Article V covered details related to certificates issued to traders that permitted traders to use other routes than those mentioned in Article IV as well as border transit procedures.<ref name=":1" />

Article VI outlined that "upon ratification by both Governments and shall remain in force for eight (8) years" and the procedure for extension.<ref name=":1" />

The agreement was signed {{Interlanguage link|Nedyam Raghavan|lt=Nedyam Raghavan|de||WD=}}, Plenipotentiary of the Government of the Republic of India, and Chang Han Fu, Plenipotentiary of the Central People's Government, People's Republic of China.<ref name=":1" /> Raghavan was the Indian Ambassador while Chang Han-fu was the Chinese Deputy Foreign Minister.

Further notes were exchanged.<ref>[https://www.claudearpi.net/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/WhitePaper1NEW.pdf Notes Exchanged. Peking, April 29, 1954]. pp 125—133.</ref>

== Criticism ==
{{expand section|date=October 2021}}
Commentators in the West and also within India viewed the agreement as a "diplomatic blunder" on the part of Prime Minister [[Jawaharlal Nehru]], especially after the [[Sino-Indian War|1962 war]].<ref name=":0">{{Cite journal|last=Gupta|first=K.|date=1978|title=Sino-Indian Agreement on Tibetan Trade and Intercourse: Its Origin and Significance|url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/4366549|journal=Economic and Political Weekly|volume=13|issue=16|pages=696–702|jstor=4366549|issn=0012-9976}}</ref>

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

== Bibliography ==
* {{citation |first=Avtar Singh |last=Bhasin |title=Nehru, Tibet and China |publisher=Penguin Random House |year=2021 |isbn=9780670094134 |ref={{sfnref|Bashin, Nehru, Tibet and China|2021}}}}
* {{citation |last=Hoffmann |first=Steven A. |title=India and the China Crisis |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=BpSRwC5_EPUC |year=1990 |publisher=University of California Press |isbn=978-0-520-06537-6 |ref={{sfnref|Hoffmann, India and the China Crisis|1990}}}}
** {{citation |last=Hoffmann |first=Steven A. |title=India and the China Crisis |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_bjADwAAQBAJ |year=2018 |orig-year=first published 1990 |publisher=University of California Press |isbn=978-0-520-06537-6 |ref={{sfnref|Hoffmann, India and the China Crisis|2018}}}}
* {{citation |first=Gene T. |last=Hsiao |title=The Foreign Trade of China: Policy, Law, and Practice |publisher=Univ of California Press |year=2021 |isbn=9780520315754 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=B_nnDwAAQBAJ |ref={{sfnref|Hsiao, The Foreign Trade of China|2021}}}}
* {{citation |last=Lintner |first=Bertil |title=China's India War: Collision Course on the Roof of the World |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-L9DDwAAQBAJ |year=2018 |publisher=OUP India |isbn=978-0-19-909163-8 |ref={{sfnref|Lintner, China's India War|2018}}}}
* {{citation |last=Menon |first=Shivshankar |title=Choices: Inside the Making of India's Foreign Policy |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=GduACwAAQBAJ |year=2016 |publisher=Brookings Institution Press |isbn=978-0-8157-2911-2 |ref={{sfnref|Menon, Choices|2016}}}}
* {{citation |last=Raghavan |first=Srinath |title=War and Peace in Modern India |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=EbtBJb1bsHUC |date=2010 |publisher=Palgrave Macmillan |isbn=978-1-137-00737-7 |ref={{sfnref|Raghavan, War and Peace in Modern India|2010}}}}

== External links ==
{{wikisource|Agreement on Trade and Intercourse between the Tibet Region of China and India}}
* Lorenz Lüthi. [http://src-h.slav.hokudai.ac.jp/publictn/eurasia_border_review/Vol3SI/luthi.pdf Sino-Indian Relations, 1954–1962]. p. 98. Eurasia Border Review Special Issue on China's Post-Revolutionary Borders, 1940s-1960s.
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20170211080105/https://www.cia.gov/library/readingroom/docs/CIA-RDP80R01443R000300080003-9.pdf NSC Briefing: Sino-Indian Treaty of 29 April 1954 on Tibet], CIA Library Reading Room, archived 11 February 2017.

[[Category:China–India relations]]
[[Category:1954 in China]]
[[Category:1954 in India]]
[[Category:1954 in international relations]]
[[Category:Mao Zedong]]
[[Category:Jawaharlal Nehru]]

1954 Sino-Indian Agreement - Revision history

CrystleBreinl34 at 16:46, 8 September 2025