China on Thursday reminded the United States to maintain the overall bilateral relationship, and urged it to refrain from interfering in China's domestic affairs, such as Tibet-related issues.
U.S. President Barack Obama held a closed-door meeting with the 14th Dalai Lama at the White House Wednesday.
"Tibet affairs are China's domestic affairs and no foreign country has the right to interfere," Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lu Kang told a daily news briefing.
Lu said the 14th Dalai Lama was not a purely religious figure, but a political exile who has long engaged in anti-China separatist activities under the guise of religion, and the essence of his "middle way" approach is "Tibet independence".
The meeting goes against the United States' acknowledgement that Tibet is an inseparable part of Chinese territory and its rejection of "Tibet independence" and anti-China separatist activities, Lu said.
Such a meeting constitutes interference into China's internal affairs and harms China-U.S. mutual trust and cooperation, Lu said.
