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China lodges protest over Obama meeting with Dalai Lama
Officials in Beijing have summoned the U.S. ambassador to China to protest President Barack Obama's meeting Thursday with the Dalai Lama, the exiled spiritual leader of Tibet.
Within hours of the White House talks between U.S. President Barack Obama and the Dalai Lama, a Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman issued a statement saying the meeting had "seriously harmed" U.S.-Sino relations.
"We believe the actions of the U.S. side have seriously interfered in Chinese internal affairs, seriously hurt the feelings of the Chinese people and seriously undermined China-U.S. relations," he said.
The Chinese Foreign Ministry summoned the American ambassador in Beijing to lodge its "solemn representations" - claiming the United States had "grossly violated international relations" by ignoring its warnings not to meet with the exiled Tibetan spiritual leader.