<p>The Tibetan Plateau, known as the “roof of the world,” features a complex landscape shaped by intricate tectonic and climatic interactions. However, the processes contributing to its distinctive geomorphological features, particularly in the southeastern (SE) region, remain unclear. To address this, we employed the advanced bivariate and multivariate analyses alongside deep data-mining techniques to quantify the relative contributions of tectonic and climatic factors across 49 mountain ranges. Our findings revealed that maximum elevation correlates strongly with crustal shortening; however, intense precipitation-driven erosion offsets topographic gains, producing a “capping” effect that constrains further elevation growth, thereby establishing a dynamic equilibrium between uplift and denudation. Glaciation plays a dual role in protecting high-altitude summits while enhancing erosion near the equilibrium line altitude, as demonstrated using the cosine of latitude as a proxy. These results highlight the scale-dependent interactions between tectonic and climatic forces, revealing a “balancing” mechanism where enhanced erosion modulates tectonic driven relief. By quantifying these processes, our study challenges the conventional view of tectonic dominance in shaping topography and underscores the dynamic coupling between tectonic and climatic processes, offering novel insights into the evolution of the SE Tibetan Plateau.</p> Graphical Abstract <p></p>