Sino - Nepalese War Sino - Nepalese War ( , pacification of Gorkha ) was an invasion of Tibet by Nepal from 1788 - 1792 . The war was initially fought between Nepalese and Tibetan army over trade dispute related to a long standing problem of coins of bad alloy struck by Nepal for Tibet . However , the initial Nepalese success in subduing the Tibetans , who were under the suzerainty of China , escalated the war by involving the Chinese imperial force . The Nepalese were eventually driven out from all the occupied territories and were forced to sign a peace treaty . Background . Tibet had been using Nepalese silver coins since the time of the Malla kings . When Prithvi Narayan Shah of the Gorkha Kingdom launched an economic blockade on the Kathmandu Valley during his unification campaign , Jaya Prakash Malla of Kathmandu faced an economic crisis which he tried to alleviate by minting low quality coins mixed with copper . After Prithvi Narayan Shah successfully conquered the Kathmandu Valley in 1769 and firmly established the rule of the Shah Dynasty in Nepal , he reverted to minting pure silver coins . But by then the damage to the confidence of the Nepalese minted coins had already been done . The Tibetans demanded that all the impure coins in circulation be replaced by pure silver ones , a demand that would place a huge financial burden on the newly founded Shah dynasty . Prithvi Narayan Shah was not willing to bear such a huge loss for a matter he was not responsible , but was willing to vouch for the purity of the newly minted coins . Thus two kinds of coins were in circulation in the market . The case remained unresolved due to his untimely demise in 1775 , and the problem was inherited by successive rulers of Nepal . By 1788 Bahadur Shah , the youngest son of Prithivi Narayan Shah , and the uncle and regent of the minor king Rana Bahadur Shah , had inherited an aggravated coinage problem . On the plea of counterfeited coins , Tibet had started to spread rumors that it was in a position to attack Nepal ; and the Nepalese merchants in Tibet were likewise harassed . Another sore point in Nepal - Tibet relationship was Nepal ’ s decision to provide refuge to the 10th Shamarpa Lama , Mipam Chödrup Gyamtso , and his fourteen Tibetan followers . He had fled from Tibet to Nepal on religious and political grounds . Yet another cause for conflict was the low quality of salt being provided by Tibetans to Nepal . In those days all the salt in Nepal came from Tibet . A Nepalese delegation was sent to Tibet to resolve these issues , but the demands made by the Nepalese were rejected by the Tibetans . This left Nepal with no choice but to launch multi - directional attacks on Tibet . First Invasion . In the year 1789 , Bahadur Shah sent Gorkha troops under the joint command of Damodar Pande and Bam Shah to attack Tibet . The Gorkha troops entered Tibet through Kuti and reached as far as Tashilhunpo ( about 410 km . from Kuti ) . A fierce battle was fought at Shikarjong in which the Tibetans were badly defeated . The Panchen Lama and Sakya Lama then requested the Gorkha troops to have peace talks . So the Gorkha troops left Shikarjong and went towards Kuti and Kerung ( Gyirong ) . When the Qianlong Emperor of China heard the news of the invasion of Tibet by Nepal , he sent a large troop of the Chinese Army under the command of General Chanchu . General Chanchu came to know the situation from the Tibetan Lamas . He decided to stay in Tibet till the dispute was settled . The representatives of Tibet and Nepal met at Khiru in 1790 to have peace talks . In the talks Tibet was held responsible for the quarrel and were required to give compensation to Nepal for the losses incurred in the war . Tibet had also to pay tribute to Nepal a sum of Rs . 50 , 001 every year in return for giving back to Tibet all the territories acquired during the war . The Nepalese representatives were given Rs . 50 , 001 as the first installment . So giving back the territories - Kerung , Kuti , Longa , Jhunga and Falak , they went back to Nepal . But Tibet refused to pay the tributes from the very second year of the conclusion of the treaty . As a result , the war between Nepal and Tibet continued . Second Invasion . As Tibet had refused to pay the tribute to Nepal , Bahadur Shah sent a troop under Abhiman Singh Basnet to Kerung and another troop under the command of Damodar Pande to Kuti in 1791 . Damodar Pande attacked Digarcha and captured the property of the monastery there . He also arrested the minister of Lhasa , Dhoren Kazi and came back to Nepal . As soon as this news was heard by the Chinese Emperor , he sent a strong troop of 70 , 000 soldiers under the leadership of Fuk ' anggan to defend Tibet . Thus in the year 1792 the Nepal - Tibet war turned into a Nepal - China war . The Qing Empire asked Nepal to return the property to Tibet which was looted at Digarcha . They also demanded them to give back Shamarpa Lama who had taken asylum in Nepal . But Nepal turned a deaf ear to these demands . The Qing Imperial Army responded to Nepal with military intervention . The Qing forces marched along the banks of the Trishuli river until they reached Nuwakot . The Nepalese troops attempted to defend against the Qing attack , but were already faced with overwhelming odds . Heavy damages were inflicted on both sides and the Chinese army pushed the Gurkhas back to the inner hills close to the Nepali capital . However , a comprehensive defeat of the Gorkhali army could not be achieved . At the same time , Nepal was dealing with military confrontations along two other fronts . The nation of Sikkim had began incursions along Nepal ' s eastern border . Along the far - western side , the war with Garhwal continuined . Within Nepals own borders , the kingdoms of Achham , Doti and Jumla openly revolted . Thus the problems that Bahadur Shah faced made it much harder to defend against the Imperial Army of Qing . The anxious Bahadur Shah asked for 10 howitzer mountain guns from the British East India Company . Colonel William Kirkpatrick arrived in Kathmandu , but he put conditions of business treaty for delivery of the weapons . Wary of the British interest , weapons were not received and the war situation became critical for Bahadur Shah . After a series of successful battles , the Chinese army suffered a major setback when they tried to cross a monsoon - flooded Betrawati , close to a Gorkhali palace in Nuwakot . As the Chinese troops had reached south of the Betravati river , near Nuwakot , it was difficult for the Nepalese troops to wait for them at Kathmandu . At Kathmandu , a Nepalese force of less than 200 soldiers attempted to resisted the Chinese troops at Betravati . On September 19 , 1792 Nepalese troops launched a counter attack against the Chinese forces encamped at Jitpurfedi . The Nepalese used a tactic where their soldiers carried lit torches in their hands , tying them to the branches of trees , and tying flaming torches on the horns of domestic animals and driving them towards the enemy . The Qing army suffered a defeat , but the loss failed to dislodge them from Nepal . A stalemate ensued , and with their resources low and a looming uncertainty regarding how long they would be able to hold on in addition to the need to continue their expansion drive on the western frontier , the Gorkhalis signed a treaty in Chinese terms that required , among other obligations , Nepal to send tributes to the Chinese emperor every five years . Aftermath . The Qing general Fuk ' anggan then sent a proposal to the Government of Nepal for ratifying a peace treaty . Bahadur Shah also wanted to have cordial relations with China . He readily accepted the proposal and they concluded a friendly treaty at Betravati in 1792 . The terms of the treaty were as follows : While Tibet came under greater control of China right after the war , Nepal still retained its autonomy . However the weakening of the Qing dynasty during the 19th century led to the disregard of this treaty . For instance , during the Anglo - Nepalese War of 1814 - 16 , when the British East India Company launched an invasion of Nepal , not only did China fail to help her feudatory in that conflict , but it also failed to prevent the cession of Nepalese territory to the British . Similarly , during the another Nepalese - Tibetan War of 1855 - 56 , China was conspicuously absent . External links .