Obama’s Meeting with Dalai Lama Angers China

According to BBC, a visit by the Dalai Lama to Washington on Feb. 18 has “seriously undermined” relations between the U.S. and China. China has released a strongly worded statement in response to President Barack Obama’s meeting with Tibet’s spiritual leader expressing “strong dissatisfaction and resolute opposition” to the meeting with the Dalai Lama, whom they see as a separatist.

China has expressed that U.S. actions have seriously hurt “the national feelings of the Chinese people,” according to BBC. “The Dalai Lama is a Nobel Peace Prize laureate, internationally revered religious and cultural leader,” said Mark Toner, a State Department spokesman, according to The New York Times.

Additionally, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Ma Zhaoxu asserted that the meeting between Obama and the exiled Tibetan leader violated the U.S. government’s acceptance that Tibet is a part of China.           

 
“China never reacts well to these meetings, which have been taking place for nearly two decades,” stated a BBC correspondent in Beijing. This may be due to the fact that the meetings highlight “Beijing’s terrible human rights record, and remind the world that many Tibetans are deeply unhappy with China’s heavy-handed rule in Tibet,” the correspondent added. Washington attempted to keep the Dalai Lama’s meeting low-key to emphasize it was private rather than political. White House officials did not allow reporters or photographers to see Obama and the Dalai Lama meeting together, releasing only one official photograph. Furthermore, the talks were held at the White House’s Map Room rather than inside the more official Oval Office. 

During the low-key meeting, Obama reportedly expressed his “strong support” for Tibetan rights. The White House has defended the decision to receive the Dalai Lama, stating he was “an internationally respected religious leader,” according to BBC.
According to The New York Times, Obama and the Dalai Lama spoke about democracy and human rights. In addition, they discussed the need to preserve Tibet’s religious identity and culture.   

The Dalai Lama fled Tibet in 1959 after a failed uprising against Chinese rule and has since been living in India. Additionally, according to BBC, he “has met every sitting U.S. president since 1991, with each visit drawing Chinese ire.” However, George Bush’s meeting with the Dalai Lama in 2007 was the first time a U.S. president had appeared in public with the exiled leader.    

The White House put off the meeting last year so as not to interfere with Obama’s trip to Beijing in November. It is what The New York Times refers to as “the latest evidence of the more muscular posture” that the Obama administration has adopted with China. Additionally, the Dalai Lama met with Secretary of State Hillary Clinton at the State Department. The Dalai Lama also met with reporters at the White House afterward, and said that overall, he was happy with the visit.