TIMELINE - Key dates in modern China-Tibet relations

(Reuters) - Chinese troops moved to tackle unrest in ethnic Tibetan enclaves in its western provinces on Monday, a week after protests flared against Chinese rule in the Tibetan capital Lhasa.

Following is a chronology of some of the main events in modern China-Tibet relations.

Oct 1950: Chinese People's Liberation Army troops march into Tibet, one year after Communist Party Chairman Mao Zedong wins civil war and establishes People's Republic of China.

Sept 1954: Chairman Mao meets Dalai Lama.

March 1959: Tibetans stage abortive uprising in which thousands are killed after reforms are introduced to end centuries of feudalism. Tibet's god-king, the Dalai Lama, flees to India with an estimated 80,000 followers. He establishes a "government-in-exile" in Dharamsala but no country recognises it.

1965: Tibet Autonomous Region formally established.

1966: China's Cultural Revolution begins. Tibetan Red Guards close monasteries in Tibet, smash Buddhist statues and force monks and nuns to return to secular life.

1972: U.S. President Richard Nixon's China visit ends programme in which Central Intelligence Agency trained Tibetans who fought guerrilla war against People's Liberation Army in Tibet.

1979: Rapprochement begins with Dalai Lama's brother, Gyalo Thondup, visiting China at invitation of paramount leader Deng Xiaoping. Trips not publicised in media.