BEIJING — China urged the United States today to immediately cancel plans for President Barack Obama to meet with the Dalai Lama next week, warning that the move could further hurt ties.
Foreign Ministry spokesman Ma Zhaoxu issued the remarks hours after Washington announced Obama would meet with the Tibetan spiritual leader at the White House on Feb. 18.
China accuses the Dalai Lama of pushing for Tibetan independence, which the Dalai Lama denies, and believes that shunning the exiled Tibetan monk should be a basic principle of international relations. Obama has been under intense pressure to meet with the Dalai Lama after putting off a meeting in October.
Every U.S. president for the last two decades has met with the Dalai Lama, and those visits are considered powerful signs of the American commitment to human rights.
The Associated Press
