Barack Obama To Host Dalai Lama At White House Today

WASHINGTON: Hours before U.S. President Barack Obama's meeting with the Tibetan spiritual leader Dalai Lama at the White House, China demanded its immediate cancellation, warning that the unjustified interference in its domestic affairs will cause "great damage" to bilateral ties.

U.S. National Security Council spokesperson Caitlin Hayden announced that President Obama "will meet the Dalai Lama in his capacity as an internationally respected religious and cultural leader.”

The White House announcement drew sharp reaction from China, which has long opposed foreign dignitaries meeting with the 78-year-old Dalai Lama who fled to India in 1959.

"We urge the United States to take China's concerns seriously and not to facilitate or offer occasion for the Dalai Lama to conduct anti-China secessionist moves," Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said in a statement.

"China is greatly concerned about the meeting, and has lodged solemn representations to the U.S. side," Hua said.

The Tibetan issue is a domestic affair for China, she said, adding that there is no other country which bears the right to interfere.

The arranged meeting is an unjustified interference with China's domestic affairs and a serious violation of the principles of international relations, and will cause great damage to China-U.S. relations, Hua warned.

Also Read:
10 Most Widely Spoken Languages In The World
India Among The Top Contenders For The Google Lunar Xprize