Beijing, Feb.19 (ANI): China on Friday described Thursday’s meeting between US President Barack Obama and Tibetan spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama, in the Map Room of the White House as a “gross violation” of international relations and called for the United States to “stop conniving and supporting anti-Chinese forces”. “The US act grossly violated the norms governing international relations and ran counter to the principles,” The Telegraph quoted Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Ma Zhaoxu, as saying.”It also went against the repeated commitments by the US government that the US recognises Tibet as part of China and gives no support to ‘Tibet independence’,” he added.

Beijing demanded that Washington “seriously consider” China’s stance and immediately take steps to “wipe out the baneful impact and stop conniving and supporting anti-China separatist forces.”

The Dalai Lama later chided China for its “childish” and “limited” approach to Tibetan independence efforts.

Obama used his first meeting with the Dalai Lama to press Beijing to preserve Tibet’s identity and protect its population’s human rights.

“The president commended the Dalai Lama’s … commitment to non-violence and his pursuit of dialogue with the Chinese government,” the White House said in a written statement after the nearly hour-long meeting.

Obama encouraged China and the Dalai Lama’s envoys to keep up efforts to resolve their differences through negotiations, though eight years of talks have yielded little progress.

The 74-year-old spiritual leader is reviled by Beijing as a dangerous separatist but admired by millions around the world for his commitment to non-violent protest.

The White House also said Obama and the Dalai Lama also “agreed on the importance of a positive and co-operative relationship between the United States and China”.

The White House took pains to keep the encounter low-key, barring media coverage of the meeting itself, and releasing a limited number of official photographs. The protocol followed the example set by previous presidents.

The meeting could complicate Washington’s efforts to secure China’s help on key issues such as imposing tougher sanctions on Iran, resolving the North Korean nuclear standoff and forging a new global accord on climate change.

Diplomats already expect that China’s President Hu Jintao will not attend a nuclear summit in Washington this April, however a much more serious step would be to cancel a state visit to America planned for November. (ANI)