China 'resolutely opposes' Obama-Dalai Lama meet

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BEIJING, Feb 3 (AFP): China said Wednesday it 'resolutely opposes' any meeting between US President Barack Obama and the Dalai Lama, after a defiant White House insisted the talks would go ahead.
"China resolutely opposes the Dalai Lama visiting America and resolutely opposes American leaders receiving the Dalai Lama under any name or form," foreign ministry spokesman Ma Zhaoxu said in a statement.
"We urge the US side to clearly recognise the high sensitivity of the Tibet issue and handle related issues carefully and appropriately to avoid causing more harm to Sino-US ties."
The Dalai Lama is due in the United States later this month.
On Tuesday, the Obama administration rejected Chinese pressure to snub the exiled Tibetan spiritual leader, with a spokesman saying a date for the meeting would be announced later.
"The president told China leaders during his trip last year that he would meet with the Dalai Lama, and he intends to do so," White House spokesman Bill Burton told reporters Tuesday.
"The Dalai Lama is an internationally respected religious and cultural leader, and the president will meet with him in that capacity," he said on Air Force One as Obama made a day trip to New Hampshire.
Obama avoided a meeting with the Buddhist monk ahead of his maiden visit to China in November, a move that earned him criticism at home.