U.S. President Barack Obama will meet with Tibetan spiritual leader Dalai Lama in February despite China's warnings, White House spokesman Robert Gibbs announced during a press briefing on Thursday.
Beijing warned Obama on Tuesday that in case he decides to meet with the Dalai Lama this month relations between the countries may deteriorate.
"He will be here later this month," Gibbs said, however declined to name an exact date.
The Dalai Lama's secretary earlier said the spiritual leader would arrive in the United States February 17-18.
The United States and China have recently not seen eye to eye on a number of international issues, including the Iranian nuclear issue, the $6.3-billion weapons sales to Taiwan, as well as the Dalai Lama's status.
An executive vice-minister of the United Front Work Department, the Chinese Communist Party's department that officially deals with ethnic policy, Zhu Weiqun said on Tuesday: "If the U.S. leader decides to meet with the Dalai Lama, it would seriously undermine mutual trust and cooperation between our countries."
The Dalai Lama, who fled Tibet in 1959, has repeatedly said he seeks autonomy for Tibet rather than independence from China.
Last October, the Dalai Lama received a U.S. Congress award in honor of his human rights work.
Beijing accused the Nobel Peace Prize winner of orchestrating the March 2008 unrest in Tibet. Disturbances started when Buddhist monks took to the streets to mark the 49th anniversary of a failed uprising against Chinese rule. The unrest left 19 people dead and 623 injured, according to official Chinese reports. The Dalai Lama denied the allegations.
"There will be issues that we will disagree on, and we will disagree on them both in private and in public," Gibbs said. "We envision this relationship as one where we can work together on issues of mutual concern."
Gibbs did not mention if the president and the spiritual leader would meet in private or make a public appearance.
WASHINGTON, February 4 (RIA Novosti)
