China is a united multi-ethnic state with long history. As early as 221 BC, the Qin Dynasty (221-206 BC), the first feudal empire in the history of China, brought about unification to the country for the first time. The subsequent Han Dynasty (206 BC-220 AD) further consolidated the country's unification. Administrative areas known as jun (prefecture) and xian (county) were established across the country, and uniform systems of law, language, calendar, carriage, currency, and weights and measures were adopted. This promoted exchanges between different areas and ethnic groups, and created the fundamental framework for the political, economic and cultural development of China as a united multi-ethnic state over the next 2,000 years or more. Later dynasties - whether they were established by Han people, such as the Sui (581-618), Tang (618-907), Song (960-1279) and Ming (1368-1644), or by other ethnic minority groups, such as the Yuan (1271-1368) and Qing (1644-1911) - all considered themselves as "orthodox reigns" of China and regarded the establishment of a united multi-ethnic state their highest political goal.

Almost all the central authorities of the feudal dynasties adopted a policy of "rule by custom" toward the ethnic minorities. Under this policy, the political unification of China was maintained while the ethnic minorities were allowed to preserve their own social systems and cultures. The Han Dynasty created the Office of Protector-General of the Western Regions in what is now the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, and the Tang Dynasty established Anxi and Beiting Office of Protector-General in the same area. These organizations administered only political and military affairs. The central authorities of the Qing Dynasty adopted different measures for governing the ethnic-minority areas in accordance with local characteristics. In the areas where Mongolians lived, a league-banner (prefecture-county) administrative system was exercised. In Tibet, the central government sent Grand Ministers Resident in Tibet and exercised a religion-political rule of lamas and nobles by granting honorific titles to the two most important Living Buddhas, namely, the Dalai Lama and the Panchen Lama. In the areas where Uygur people lived in compact communities, a Beg (a generic term for chiefs of Moslem groups appointed by the central government) system was adopted. In places where ethnic peoples lived in south China, a system oftusi("aboriginal office" literally) was introduced. Under the old social system it is impossible for all ethnic groups to enjoy equality in the modern sense of the word, and strife, conflicts and even wars among them were inevitable. Still, the long-standing existence of a united, multi-ethnic state in Chinese history greatly enhanced the political, economic and cultural exchanges among different ethnic groups, and constantly promoted the identification of all ethnic groups with the central government, and their allegiance to it.

Regional Autonomy for Ethnic Minorities in China (2005)