In 1930 Ma met with the Tibetan dKon-mchog-gro-nyi to talk about Tibetan matters, since he was assigned to deal with Tibetan related issues. Chiang Kai-shek had delegated dKon-mchog-gro-nyi to communicate with the 13th Dalai Lama over the issue of the 9th Panchen Lama, who had fled Tibet and joined the Chinese government after a dispute against the 13th Dalai Lama. The Dalai Lama sent a message to Ma Fuxiang on 28 December 1930, accusing the Panchen Lama's adherents of inciting Sichuan warlords during the Sino-Tibetan War.