US President Barack Obama will meet the Dalai Lama in Washington later this month, US officials have confirmed, despite warnings from China that the meeting would further inflamed already strained diplomatic relations.
The announcement from the White House, although widely expected, comes after a bruising few weeks for China-US relations that have been strained by disagreements over trade, arms sales to Taiwan and China’s onerous internet censorship regime.
No officials date was set for the meeting, however the exiled Tibetan spiritual leaders is scheduled to be in Washington from February 17 to 18.
White House spokesman Robert Gibbs was unable to confirm if the Dalai Lama, who Beijing views as a “dangerous separatist”, would be afforded the recognition of a meeting in the Oval Office or a less formal “drop by” encounter.
China’s embassy in Washington reacted immediately to the announcement, repeating warnings from Beijing that the Obama administration should be cancel the meeting “so as to avoid further negative impact on bilateral relations.”
President Obama was heavily criticised by rights groups last October when he elected not to meet the Dalai Lama ahead of his maiden visit to China in a bid to get US-China relations off on the right foot.
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