Abstract:

Even before the 1911 revolution in China, American missionaries, explorers and diplomats had began the process of acquiring knowledge about Tibet and Tibetans in the Chinese Empire. Immediately after the 1911 revolution, the US government, in order to maintain their ＂Open Door＂ policy; and to protect their interests in China, demonstrated their disagreement with the government of the United Kingdom on the status of Tibet when the latter plotted the Simla Conference and tried to split Tibet from China. The US government sent its first official mission to Tibet during the Second World War when the Allies were locked in combat with Japan, and again clearly expressed its differences with the British government about the status of Tibet.[第一段]