New Delhi, Feb. 17 -- The overwhelming passage of a bill in the US House that pressures China to resume direct negotiations with the Dalai Lama's envoys or the democratically elected leaders of the Tibetan people is a significant symbolic win that may not make any tangible impact on Beijing. Known as the Resolve Tibet Act, the bill leans on the Chinese government to resume negotiations which have been stalled since 2010.

Even when the negotiations stalled 14 years ago, Beijing had shown no particular inclination to resolve the Tibetan dispute. In the interregnum, the rise of and dramatic consolidation of power by President Xi Jinping since March 14, 2013, has meant that China's position on Tibet has become even more entrenched.

However,...