China’s reported efforts to influence an international seminar on Tibetan studies in Nepal have attracted growing attention after researchers from the Tibet Policy Institute (TPI), a think tank of the Central Tibetan Administration (CTA), withdrew from the event following diplomatic engagement between Chinese and Nepali officials.
The 17th seminar of the International Association for Tibetan Studies (IATS), scheduled to take place in Kathmandu from 23 to 29 August, has become the focus of unusual diplomatic interest, according to media reports over recent days. Organisers have expressed surprise at the level of attention from multiple Chinese government agencies, particularly as the conference is an established academic forum dedicated to Tibetan studies and is expected to include a substantial number of Chinese participants.
Further speculation has emerged following the announcement that one of China’s senior Buddhist figures, Venerable Master Yin Shun, is due to arrive in Kathmandu on 29 July. According to a report published by kathmandupost.com on 28 July, the visit comes shortly after the reported withdrawal of the Tibet Policy Institute from the conference.
Master Yin serves as a member of the National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), is the former vice-president of the Buddhist Association of China, and is abbot of the Zhong Hua Chinese Buddhist Monastery in Lumbini. Well known in Nepal, he has visited Kathmandu on several previous occasions.
The purpose of the visit has not been publicly disclosed by Beijing. However, a senior Nepali government official quoted by kathmandupost.com said the timing had prompted speculation because it coincided with Chinese concerns over the forthcoming seminar.
“At a time when Beijing has been expressing concern over the upcoming event, it is sending its top monks to Kathmandu,” the official said, adding that no official explanation had been provided for the visit.
“Such a major event definitely has drawn attention, so Beijing may have decided to send him for that reason,” the official added.
Registration for the seminar closed on 15 June 2026. Organisers said China would send approximately 100 participants, making it the second-largest national delegation after the United States.
Despite this significant Chinese academic presence, organisers said they had been puzzled by what they described as the Chinese government’s heightened concern over the conference. They noted that numerous Chinese scholars specialising in Tibetan art, culture, literature, history and related disciplines were already scheduled to participate alongside researchers from many other countries.
According to the reports, Beijing’s principal concern centred on the participation of five researchers from the Tibet Policy Institute, who had planned to attend in their official capacities representing the Central Tibetan Administration.
The issue reportedly came to a head after Chinese Ambassador to Nepal Zhang Maoming met Nepal’s Foreign Secretary Amrit Bahadur Rai on 21 July. During the meeting, Zhang was reported to have expressed concern that some participants could make remarks critical of China or supportive of Tibet, and urged the Nepali authorities to ensure that such statements would not occur.
Following those developments, the Tibet Policy Institute withdrew from the seminar.
Professor Sagar Sharma, one of the conference conveners, said the organisers had been surprised by the extent of Chinese attention directed at the event.
“We are surprised to see the amount of attention being paid by the Chinese side to the event,” Sharma said.
According to Sharma, around 700 delegates from 39 countries are expected to attend the seminar, making it one of the largest international gatherings devoted to Tibetan studies.
The conference is being jointly organised by the Himalaya Centre for Asian Studies at Kathmandu University and the Kathmandu University Centre for Buddhist Studies at Rangjung Yeshe Institute. Professor Sharma and Professor Thomas Doctor are serving as the event’s co-conveners.
Formally established in 1979 at the University of Oxford, the International Association for Tibetan Studies operates as a non-political academic organisation dedicated to advancing research on Tibetan history, religion, linguistics and art. Its international board includes members from the Czech Republic, Nepal, Austria, Bhutan, Japan, the United Kingdom, Norway, France and China, reflecting its longstanding role as a global forum for scholarly research on Tibet.
