BEIJING/WASHINGTON – China yesterday again urged the United States to scrap plans for President Barack Obama to meet the Dalai Lama next week, the latest source of friction in already strained Sino-US relations.
The White House had said on Thursday that Mr Obama would meet the exiled Tibetan spiritual leader on February 18th, despite China’s repeated warnings that such talks would hurt ties.
“China firmly opposes the Dalai Lama visiting the United States and US leaders’ contacting with him,” a report from the Xinhua news agency cited foreign ministry spokesman Ma Zhaoxu as saying.
Tensions with Washington have arisen over issues including trade, currencies, and the US plan to sell $6.4 billion (€4.7 billion) of weapons to Taiwan, the island that China treats as an illegitimate breakaway province.
China vowed last week to impose unspecified sanctions on US companies selling arms to Taiwan. Senior Chinese military officers have proposed that their country should boost defence spending and possibly sell some US bonds to punish Washington for its latest round of proposed arms sales to Taiwan.
Despite this, US officials said on Thursday that Beijing had cleared a US aircraft carrier, the USS Nimitz, to visit Hong Kong next week, an apparent concession from China.
The long-planned meeting with the Dalai Lama has further stoked Beijing’s ire. It regards him as a dangerous separatist, fomenting unrest in Tibet. “We urge the US side to fully understand the high sensitivity of Tibet-related issues, honour its commitment to recognising Tibet as part of China and opposing ‘Tibet independence’,” Mr Ma said.
White House spokesman Robert Gibbs had earlier made clear the US would shrug off China’s opposition. “The Dalai Lama is an internationally respected religious leader and spokesman for Tibetan rights, and the president looks forward to an engaging and constructive dialogue,” he said.
Mindful of Chinese sensibilities, Mr Obama had held off meeting the Dalai Lama until after the president first saw Chinese leaders during a trip to Asia in November.
Strains over the Dalai Lama and other issues have raised worries that China might retaliate by obstructing US efforts on other issues, such as imposing tougher sanctions on Iran over its nuclear programme.
Mr Gibbs insisted the two countries’ relationship was “mature enough” to find common ground on issues of interest, despite their disagreements. – (Reuters)