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PARIS — President Nicolas Sarkozy, who is expected to announce today that he will attend the opening ceremonies of Beijing’s Olympic Games, was warned by China on Tuesday not to meet with the Dalai Lama in France next month.
China’s ambassador to France, Kong Quan, told reporters there would be “serious consequences” for Chinese-French relations if Sarkozy meets the Dalai Lama, asserting that it “would be contrary to the principle of noninterference in internal affairs.” Sarkozy has been vague on whether he would meet personally with the Dalai Lama, the spiritual leader-in- exile of Tibet, regarded by China as a renegade “splittist” who has advocated resistance to China’s sovereignty.
