17-point agreement paved the way to progress

The 17-point agreement, the shortened name of the Agreement between the Central People's Government and the Local Government of Tibet on Measures for the Peaceful Liberation of Tibet, was signed in Beijing on May 23, 1951.

About one month before the signing, a five-member delegation of the Tibet local government, which was headed by Ngapoi Ngawang Jigme, arrived in Beijing to talk with the central government's delegation, led by Li Weihan, on matters regarding the peaceful liberation of Tibet.

After the agreement took effect, the People's Liberation Army marched into Tibet and entered Lhasa in October 1951.