Beijing has signaled its intense displeasure at US President Barack Obama's meeting with the Dalai Lama in Washington on Thursday - a sit-down that took place despite China's vociferous opposition to what it called a serious violation of basic international norms.
As if to underscore the low-key nature of the event, Obama met the Dalai Lama in the Map Room, rather than the Oval Office, and reporters and cameramen were banned. Officials issued a single photo of the US leader and the Dalai Lama, who were awarded with the Nobel Peace Prize in 2009 and 1989, respectively.
All the while, Beijing quickly took a swipe at the two's meeting, which, a Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman said , amounts to direct interference in Chinese domestic affairs. On Friday, he lodged a serious representation with US Ambassador to China Jon Huntsman, warning Washington against further damaging Sino-US relations.
Obama's meeting with the spiritual leader of the Tibetan Buddhists runs against the repeated commitments by the U.S. government that the U.S. recognizes Tibet as part of China and gives no support to Tibet independence, the spokesman added.
In Moscow, Sergei Luzyanin, of the Far East Institute with the Russian Academy of Sciences, believes that a stern reaction from China is only natural.
For the head of state of a major country like the United States, meeting with the Dalai Lama in his official capacity is a must - something that has been in place since the mid-1990s, Luzyanin says. Traditionally, the move is considered by Beijing as a major affront to the Chinese position, Luzyanin adds, pointing to the fact that Thursday's sit-down came amid China's ever-increasing geopolitical clout. Actually, he goes on to say, what we see now is nothing but a diplomatic showdown between two major global players, who are trading barbs in the face of another bilateral spat over Washington's 6-billion-dollar arms deal with Taiwan. Needless to say, both squabbles may significantly tarnish the bilateral fence-mending, Luzyanin concludes.
Right now, there are many outstanding issues, including Iran and the world economic slump, which require close cooperation between China and the United States, which, analysts hope, will be wise enough to focus on mending ties, not taking swipes, in the future.
Please rate: