Barack Obama meets Dalai Lama despite Chinese objections

U.S President Barack Obama met with the Dalai Lama - the exiled Tibetan spiritual leader - at the White House on Thursday despite strong objections from Chinese government officials.

The meeting has the potential to further complicate Sino-U.S. tensions, which have been rising in recent months. China has warned it would damage Beijing's ties to Washington.

The Dalai Lama, who enjoys wide popularity in the United States, has lived in exile since 1959. He says he is peacefully seeking rights for Tibetans and accepts Chinese rule.

But Beijing insists that he is a "splittist" bent on dividing China and regularly protests his meetings overseas.

"The Chinese side expresses strong dissatisfaction and resolute opposition to this meeting," a spokesman for China's Foreign Ministry said in a statement afterward. "China demands the U.S. seriously consider China's stance, immediately adopt measures to wipe out the adverse impact, [and] stop conniving and supporting anti-China separatist forces."

The Dalai Lama has said he favors genuine autonomy for Tibetans, not independence for Tibet. Beijing regards the Nobel Peace Prize laureate as a dangerous "separatist" who wishes to sever Tibet from China.

Obama's meeting with the Dalai Lama "runs against the repeated commitments by the U.S. government that the U.S. recognizes Tibet as part of China and gives no support to 'Tibet independence,' " Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Ma Zhaoxu said.

During the meeting, Obama stressed his "strong support for the preservation of Tibet's unique religious, cultural and linguistic identity and the protection of human rights for Tibetans," according to a White House statement.

The president praised the Dalai Lama's "commitment to nonviolence and his pursuit of dialogue with the Chinese government," the statement added. He also stressed the importance of having both sides "engage in direct dialogue to resolve differences, and was pleased to hear about the recent resumption of talks," it noted.

The Dalai Lama, while acknowledging that he raised concerns about Tibet during the meeting, did not provide further specifics about his home region's political situation while addressing reporters.

He said he admired America as a "champion of democracy and ... freedom," and he cited the need to promote "religious harmony" and "human value."

He also met with Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.

The meeting between the Dalai Lama and Obama could "seriously undermine the Sino-U.S. political relations," Zhu Weiqun, a senior Communist Party leader in charge of ethnic and religious affairs, warned recently.

"We will take corresponding action to make relevant countries see their mistakes."