It was a balancing act for the U.S. President Barack Obama during his meet with the Dalai Lama, Friday.
Despite China's warnings and protests against the meeting, Obama had talks with the exiled Tibetan spiritual leader. Obama maintained that the U.S. position on Tibetan independence remains the same - it is a part of the People's Republic of China. However, the U.S. reiterated its concerns about the human rights issue in Tibet, the White House said in a statement.
The meeting was held behind closed-doors and no media persons were allowed inside.
The Dalai Lama also clarified his stand on Tibetan independence and said he was not seeking a separate state. Rather he said he hoped the Chinese government would resume talks, reports Al Jazeera. Obama said that China-Tibet talks would be helpful for both the parties. He also praised the 78-year-old's peace and nonviolence movement.
"The United States supports the Dalai Lama's 'middle way' approach of neither assimilation nor independence for Tibetans in China," said Caitlin Hayden, a spokeswoman for the White House
After Friday's meeting, China's vice foreign minister Zhang Yesui summoned Daniel Kritenbrink, charge d'affaires of the U.S. embassy in China later that day, reportsReuters. "The United States must take concrete actions to regain the trust of the Chinese government and people," Zhang said, according to the official website of China's foreign ministry.
"It sends a very powerful message to Tibetans inside Tibet because it gives them a sense of hope that their voices are heard, even by the most powerful person in the world," prime minister-in-exile Lobsang Sangay told Agence France-Presse. "The respect shown to His Holiness by President Obama means a lot to Tibetans all over the world, particularly inside Tibet," he said.
Sangay, who was elected in 2011 after the Dalai Lama announced his retirement from political life, said China's disapproval to the meeting was an "artificial stance," reports AFP. "They know His Holiness is not a 'splittist'; they know it very well. We want to see an end to repression of Tibetans and thereby are willing not to seek separation from China. This is a win-win proposition for China and the Chinese government," he said.
China launched a diplomatic protest Friday ahead of the Obama-Dalai Lama meet. It warned the U.S. of the serious damage the meeting would cause to the Sino-U.S. relations. "We urge the United States to take China's concerns seriously and not to facilitate or offer occasion for the Dalai Lama to conduct anti-China secessionist moves," foreign ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said in a news release. She also said that the Tibet issue was a domestic issue and no country had the right to interfere.
The Asian Tiger country accuses the 14th spiritual guru of dividing Tibet from China in the garb of religion. After a failed uprising in 1959 the Dalai Lama, a noble peace laureate, sought shelter in India.
