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In fact, this unity is voluntary based on common interest accord with the laws of humanity, which is the principle of "people's interest is the supreme interest". Nothing could explain this stable unity other than this principle. In accordance with agreement and customary practice, the Qing Court and its successor sent troops to Xizang (Tibet) only at the request of Dalai Lama and would return to Sichuan and Qinghai immediately after finishing their tasks as requested by the Dalai Lama. There was no permanent army in Xizang (Tibet) sent by the Qing Court. There were only some forces under the Amban to Xizang (Tibet), which were stationed in designated barracks. The Qing Court was partly responsible for the external and military affairs of Xizang (Tibet) and was in charge on an irregular basis of the security of Xizang (Tibet) and the repression of rebellions.

The Dalai Lama, who was performed the role of the supreme spiritual leader of the national religion of the Qing Dynasty, were trusted with the major task of maintaining the national unity. The first emperor of the Qing Dynasty made lamaism the national religion because so as to rule the various areas of Mongolia, it is necessary to unite Lamaism. Lamaism became the main force maintaining the unity of China when it had the largest territory in history. The Qing Court, in turn, with its military force and huge amount of financial support, helped Dalai Lama to maintain his supreme position and power as well as sovereignty over much more territory.

In such a unity, each side became the main condition of the existence of the other side and could hardly extract tremendous benefit from the unity. The unity was therefore stable and long lasting. Under such a situation, the legal status of the two sides was equal though the real power of the two sides was not the same. To appoint a Minister to Xizang (Tibet) and to send large amount of supplies to Xizang (Tibet) were methods to maintain the equilibrium of relations between the two sides. Otherwise, the influence of the religious leader would surpass that of the emperor at the expense of the equilibrium and equality of the two sides. It is true that relations between the Qing Court and Xizang (Tibet) underwent a lot of changes over the years, but this basic pattern was maintained until the late years of the Qing Dynasty and relations between the two sides remained stable. This is why Xizang (Tibet) did not break away from China like Korea, Vietnam, Laos, Burma and Mongolia. Xizang (Tibet) stood firmly on the Chinese side even when British troops occupied Lhasa.

Simply, it was the mutual interest rather than other factors like language and race that contribute to this unity. In reality, even people speaking the same language would form several different countries. For instance, United States, United Kingdom, Ireland, Australia and Canada are different sovereign countries. The will and aspiration of the people are the main constituting factor of sovereignty. Without this most important basis, other forms of sovereignty will eventually lose validity. Military occupation and administrative control would not be able to change this principle, especially in modern times.

Relations between Xizang (Tibet) and China were established on the basis of this unity which did not rely on military occupation and administrative rule but entirely on the aspiration for self-rule and national self-determination. The relations were therefore stable. In over 100 years (from late Qing Dynasty to the Republic of China), China failed to fulfill its commitment to the security in Xizang (Tibet) because of the weakness of China itself. However, the government of Dalai Lama had respected the treaties between the two sides and did not do anything to challenge the sovereign unity. Should Xizang (Tibet) attempt to "split", it could have easily done so like Outer Mongolia, given the internal turmoil in China and the fact that foreign powers encouraged Xizang (Tibet) to claim independence. The attempt to make the independence of Xizang (Tibet) a fait accompli was not successful only because the government of Dalai Lama declined.