4 ms·

Western China is a combination of agriculture, and completely barren, unused land. They have plenty, without Tibet and Taiwan. There's another reason, here.

Y_Y 9y ago
> Tibet has huge reserves of copper, lithium, gold and silver. Most of it has never been touched, because the Tibetans didn't mine the land: it's against their religious practices to disturb the ground. But China has begun mining on an enormous scale. from https://www.pri.org/stories/2014-11-24/new-book-documents-china-s-exploitation-tibet-s-natural-resources https://www.pri.org/stories/2014-11-24/new-book-documents-ch...
- Declanomous 9y ago
  My understanding is that the bigger issue is that Tibet is bordered on the West by a geographical barrier in the Himalayas, whereas the Eastern border with China is relatively unprotected. Given the tensions between India and China, it makes sense that China would want to exert influence over the geographical region of Tibet.
forapurpose 9y ago
> There's another reason, here. The traditional explanation, AFAIK, is that China seeks a buffer around the 'Han core' (maybe the SE 2/3 of China). That buffer is Manchuria in the north, Xinjiang in the NW, Tibet in the SW, and now they seek control of the South China Sea in the south and the various seas and islands to the east. If you look at the last imperial dynasty, the Qing (~1644-1911), you can see the same map and geographical strategy. (The Communists follow the imperial dynasties in other ways too, including now a head of state for life. Will his kids follow him?) That also follows traditional, pre-democratic great power strategy of creating a buffer region. For example, Russia is trying to do it now with Ukraine, Belarus, and Georgia (and with eyes on the Baltics), and did it in the past with the USSR and the Warsaw Pact states. Contrast that with democratic nations such as the US and those in the EU, and their relations with their neighbors.

Y_Y 9y ago

> Tibet has huge reserves of copper, lithium, gold and silver. Most of it has never been touched, because the Tibetans didn't mine the land: it's against their religious practices to disturb the ground. But China has begun mining on an enormous scale. from https://www.pri.org/stories/2014-11-24/new-book-documents-china-s-exploitation-tibet-s-natural-resources https://www.pri.org/stories/2014-11-24/new-book-documents-ch...

Declanomous 9y ago
My understanding is that the bigger issue is that Tibet is bordered on the West by a geographical barrier in the Himalayas, whereas the Eastern border with China is relatively unprotected. Given the tensions between India and China, it makes sense that China would want to exert influence over the geographical region of Tibet.

forapurpose 9y ago

> There's another reason, here. The traditional explanation, AFAIK, is that China seeks a buffer around the 'Han core' (maybe the SE 2/3 of China). That buffer is Manchuria in the north, Xinjiang in the NW, Tibet in the SW, and now they seek control of the South China Sea in the south and the various seas and islands to the east. If you look at the last imperial dynasty, the Qing (~1644-1911), you can see the same map and geographical strategy. (The Communists follow the imperial dynasties in other ways too, including now a head of state for life. Will his kids follow him?) That also follows traditional, pre-democratic great power strategy of creating a buffer region. For example, Russia is trying to do it now with Ukraine, Belarus, and Georgia (and with eyes on the Baltics), and did it in the past with the USSR and the Warsaw Pact states. Contrast that with democratic nations such as the US and those in the EU, and their relations with their neighbors.