February 4, 2010 4:17 PM

White House Confirms Obama Will Meet with Dalai Lama

By
Spencer Magloff
Topics
Foreign Policy
(AP Photo/Rajanish Kakade)
President Obama will meet with the Dalai Lama later this month, White House spokesman Robert Gibbs told reporters today.

Though Gibbs didn't specify a date, the Dalai Lama's secretary has said he will be in Washington on February 17-18, according to the Associated Press.

The prospect of a meeting between Mr. Obama and the Dalai Lama has has been a point of contention between the U.S. and China recently, but Gibbs reassured the issues were being discussed in a civilized manner.

"I know there's been a flurry of stories about our relationship with China," Gibbs told reporters. "None of these issues that have been written or discussed about in the last two weeks weren't discussed face-to-face between President Obama and President Hu when they met in Beijing."

China has repeatedly warned against any meeting between the president and the exiled Spiritual Tibetan leader.

China contends that the Dalai Lama has continued to undermine its territorial sovereignty by pushing for the independence of Tibet, a disputed territory north of the Himalayan Mountains and home to the indigenous Tibetan people.

The White House's defiance towards China may strain U.S. – China relations, along with other recent disputes over internet censorship and trade.

China has also retaliated against the U.S. recently for the administration's plan to sell Taiwan $6.4 billion worth of weapons. Though Taiwan is self-governed, China has threatened to use military force if the island tries to move towards formal independence.

Nevertheless, Gibbs said that China and the U.S. had recently made progress on other important areas of "mutual concern."

"We've worked together on stabilizing the world economy. We've worked together on issues of proliferation, particularly around -- around North Korea," Gibbs said.

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