The Chinese government reacted Wednesday to the plans by saying it "resolutely opposes" the Dalai Lama´s visit to the United States and any of his meetings with US leaders. [break]
"We urge the US side to clearly recognize the high sensitivity of the Tibet issue and handle related issues carefully and appropriately to avoid causing more harm to Sino-US ties," foreign ministry spokesman Ma Zhaoxu said in a statement.
Days after defying Beijing with a 6.4-billion-dollar weapons package for Taiwan, the White House insisted Tuesday that China address human rights concerns in Tibet.
"The president told China leaders during his trip last year that he would meet with the Dalai Lama, and he intends to do so," White House spokesman Bill Burton told reporters.
"The Dalai Lama is an internationally respected religious and cultural leader, and the president will meet with him in that capacity."
The Dalai Lama is due in the United States for a 10-day trip later this month, his secretary said, and will be in Washington February 17-19 before speaking and teaching engagements in Los Angeles and Florida. He will return to India from New York on February 25.
Obama has sought wide-ranging ties with the rising Asian power on issues from the global economy to North Korea. Burton said the president remained committed to "building a positive, comprehensive and cooperative relationship with China."
In October, Obama avoided meeting the Dalai Lama he visited Washington. The move was controversial at home, but the White House said Obama did not want to sour ties with Beijing before his maiden visit a month later.
Ma noted the two sides had discussed the issue during Obama´s visit to China in November, when Chinese leaders stated their "firm opposition toward any national leader or government official meeting the Dalai Lama." Related article: For Obama on China, no more Mr. Nice Guy?
The Dalai Lama, who has built a strong global following since fleeing into exile in India in 1959, says he is seeking greater rights for Tibetans within Chinese rule, but Beijing accuses him of separatism.
The United States considers both Taiwan, where the mainland´s defeated nationalists fled in 1949, and Tibet, where Beijing sent troops in 1950, to belong to China.
Burton said "we have human rights concerns about the treatment of Tibetans. We urge the government of China to protect the unique cultural and religious traditions of Tibet."
China earlier warned that a meeting between Obama and the Dalai Lama would "seriously undermine" US-China ties.
"If the US leader chooses to meet with the Dalai Lama at this time, it will certainly threaten trust and cooperation between China and the United States," said Zhu Weiqun, executive vice minister of the Communist Party body that handles contact with the exiled Tibetan spiritual leader.
Zhu´s comments followed another round of talks between Chinese officials and Dalai Lama envoys -- the ninth since 2002 and the first in more than a year.
Beijing said the talks yielded no progress. Some Tibet activists argue that China is simply biding time with the talks, which the United States has praised, as it waits for the 74-year-old Dalai Lama to die.
China earlier snapped off military ties and threatened to punish US companies over the arms package to Taiwan, which includes Patriot missiles, Black Hawk helicopters and other military hardware.
Ralph Cossa, president of the Pacific Forum of the Center for Strategic and International Studies, said the sharp Chinese reaction may be tied to another issue -- F-16 fighter-jets, which the administration did not sell to Taiwan.
"The Chinese are probably breathing a sigh of relief over the F-16s. But they may think that the louder they huff and puff and the more ´costly´ they make this, that they will further dissuade the US on the F-16s," he said.
US officials have said F-16s are not off the table and that they are still studying the proposal. Taiwan has pressed for the fighter jets, which analysts say are vital for the island to modernize its fleet.
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