BEIJING: China on Friday summoned US ambassador in Beijing, Jon Huntsman, to lodge a strong protest against US President Barack Obama meeting with Dalai Lama on Thursday. But the reaction was subdued as compared to the threats voiced by Chinese officials to block the meeting.
The Chinese foreign ministry issued a statement advising Obama to take "concrete actions" to ensure healthy growth of China-US relations and wipe out the baneful effect of the meeting. This is very different from its earlier statement when the ministry said the proposed meeting will gravely harm Sino-US relations.
Though Chinese officials came out with a volley of angry words, they were not much different from what they have been saying on the issue in the past. Political observers were expecting China to announce some concrete to show its anger like walking out from a proposed meeting between Obama and Chinese president Hu Jintao. But Beijing did not announce any retaliatory action.
"The US act grossly interfered in China's internal affairs, gravely hurt the Chinese people's national sentiments and seriously damaged the Sino-US ties, " the foreign ministry said after Chinese vice foreign Minister Cui Tiankai gave Huntsman a dressing down. Obama and US secretary of state Hillary Clinton met the Dalai Lama in Washington on Thursday in the face of repeated warnings from Chinese leaders. Huntsman was told China continues to oppose leaders or government officials of any country meeting the Dalai Lama because it amounted to interfere in its internal affairs.
"Tibet is an inalienable part of the inviolable territory of China, and the issues concerning Tibet are purely internal affairs of China," Ma Zhaoxu, the ministry spokesman said. The US must adopt measures to wipe out the baneful impact and stop conniving and supporting anti-China separatist forces that seek "Tibet independence" he said. "The Dalai Lama's words and deeds have shown that he is not a pure religious figure, but a political exile who has all along been engaged in separatist activities under the pretext of religion," Ma said. The meeting also showed that Washington has gone back on its past accords with Beijing reassuring Chinese leaders that it considered Tibet to be a part of China. Obama has grossly violated the basic norms governing the international relations, and worked against the principles set forth in the three China-US joint communiqués, Ma said.
China will oppose any one who attempts to use the Dalai Lama issue to interfere in China's internal affairs is doomed to failure, he said.
