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Obama meets Dalai Lama despite Chinese warning

Posted on: Fri February 19, 2010

WASHINGTON: President Barack Obama hosted the Dalai Lama at the White House on Thursday, brushing aside China s warning that the meeting with the exiled Tibetan spiritual leader could further damage strained Sino-US ties.

Obama s first presidential meeting with the Dalai Lama was sure to draw angry complaints from Beijing, which is increasingly at odds with Washington over trade, currencies, US arms sales to Taiwan and Chinese Internet censorship.

With the two giant economies so deeply intertwined, tensions are considered unlikely to escalate into outright confrontation. The White House expects only limited fallout.

But the Dalai Lama s visit could complicate Obama s efforts to secure China s help on key issues such as imposing tougher sanctions on Iran, resolving the North Korean nuclear standoff and forging a new global accord on climate change.

By going ahead with the meeting over Chinese objections, Obama may be trying to show his resolve against an increasingly assertive Beijing after facing criticism at home for being too soft with China s leaders on his trip there in November.

 Chinese officials have known about this and their reaction is their reaction, White House spokesman Robert Gibbs said dismissively on the eve of the Dalai Lama s visit.

Although admired by millions around the world as a man of peace, the Dalai Lama is accused by Beijing of being a dangerous separatist who foments unrest in Tibet. Gibbs insisted the United States and China the world s largest and third-biggest economies have a mature relationship capable of withstanding disagreements. But mindful of Chinese sensitivities, the White House has sought to strike a balance in the Dalai Lama s visit. Seeking to avoid alienating Beijing, Obama had delayed meeting the Dalai Lama until after first seeing Chinese leaders during his Asia trip last year.

During Thursday s visit, Obama like his White House predecessors denied the Dalai Lama the symbolism of meeting in the Oval Office. Instead they met in the lesser-known Map Room. Such distinctions signalled to Beijing that the Tibetan monk was not being received as a political leader.

The Dalai Lama entered the White House out of sight of journalists, and the talks were closed to media coverage. The White House planned to release a photograph later. But honouring the Dalai Lama could still help Obama burnish his administration s credentials among human rights activists, who accuse him of focusing on global issues with Beijing at the expense of promoting Chinese democratic reforms.

Ahead of the talks, Tibetans living near the Dalai Lama s birthplace in northwest China welcomed the White House meeting with a defiant show of fireworks. The midnight display along a valley dotted with Tibetan Buddhist monasteries was a reminder that the Dalai Lama remains a potent figure in his homeland.

Courtesy : The News