BEIJING -- Any meeting between US President Barack Obama and the Dalai Lama would harm bilateral relations, China warned on Tuesday while repeating Beijing's refusal to discuss Tibet's status with the spiritual leader's envoys. An Obama meeting with the Tibetan spiritual leader would "seriously undermine the political foundation of Sino-US relations," said Zhu Weiqun, executive deputy head of the Communist Party's United Front Work Department in charge of recent talks with the Dalai Lama's representatives. Zhu was speaking at a news conference where he said Chinese officials told the envoys that Beijing would not make any compromises on its sovereignty over the Himalayan region and that both sides' views remained "sharply divided". The warning to Obama comes after signals from U.S. officials in recent weeks that Obama might soon meet the exiled Tibetan leader ��" something Chinese officials are keen to avoid before President Hu Jintao travels to Washington, possibly in April.
