China slams U.S. "interference" after Obama meets Dalai Lama

China says Obama's meeting with Tibet's spiritual leader is a "gross interference" and demands U.S. to take steps to improve ties

China accused the United States on Sunday of "grossly" interfering in its internal affairs and seriously damaging relations after President Barack Obama met exiled Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama at the White House.
Obama met the Nobel Prize laureate for 45 minutes, praising him for embracing non-violence while reiterating that the United States did not support independence for Tibet.
China, which accuses the Dalai Lama of being a separatist who supports the use of violence to set up an independent Tibet, reacted swiftly, saying Obama's meeting had had a "baneful" impact, and summoning a senior U.S diplomat in Beijing.
"This action is a gross interference in China's internal affairs, hurts the feelings of the Chinese people and damages Sino-U.S. relations," Foreign Ministry spokesman Ma Zhaoxu said in a statement released in the early hours of Sunday.
"The Dalai Lama has for a long time used the banner of religion to engage in anti-China splittist activities," he added.
"We demand the United States conscientiously handle China's principled and just stance, immediately take steps to remove the baneful impact, stop interfering in China's internal affairs and stop abetting in and supporting 'Tibet independence' anti-China splittist forces."
In a separate statement carried on its website (www.mfa.gov.cn), it said Vice Foreign Minister Cui "urgently summoned" Robert S. Wang, Charge d'Affaires at the U.S. embassy in Beijing, to lodge China's objections.
"China expresses its strong indignation and resolute opposition," the statement said. "Tibet is an inseparable part of China, and Tibetan issues are purely an internal matter for China.
"Maintaining the continuous stable development of Sino-U.S. ties requires hard work from both sides."
The Dalai Lama denies China's accusations, saying he wants a peaceful transition to true autonomy for the remote Himalayan region, which China has ruled with an iron fist since 1950, when Chinese troops marched in.
A White House statement said the Dalai Lama told Obama he was not seeking independence for Tibet and hoped that "dialogue between his representatives and the Chinese government can soon resume".
Obama's meeting came at an extra sensitive moment for China, the United States' biggest creditor, with leaders in Washington at odds over how to raise the $14.3 trillion U.S. debt ceiling in time to avoid default.
China holds more than $1 trillion in U.S. Treasury debt and would be particularly exposed should Congress fail to reach a deal by Aug. 2. A U.S. default could rocket up interest rates, sink the value of the U.S. dollar and hurt the global economy.
Beijing's relations with Washington, beset by issues from human rights to trade and U.S. arms sales to Taiwan, had been improving after President Hu Jintao's visit to the United States.