China expresses anger at Obama-Dalai meeting

China voiced its strong indignation and stern objection to US President Barack Obama’s meeting with the Dalai Lama and demanded the US side to adopt immediate measures to wipe out the impact, China’s (Xinhua) news agency reported Sunday. “Such an act has grossly interfered in China’s internal affairs, hurt the feelings of Chinese people and damaged the Sino-American relations,” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Ma Zhaoxu said in a written statement released early Sunday morning. “We demand the US side to seriously consider China’s stance, immediately adopt measures to wipe out the baneful impact, stop interfering in China’s internal affairs and cease to connive and support anti-China separatist forces that seek ‘Tibet independence’,” Ma urged in the statement. The US allowance of Dalai Lama to visit the country and arrangement of its top leader’s meeting with him has grossly violated the norms governing international relations and gone against the repeated commitments made by the US government, Ma said, noting that fostering a sound and developing China-US relations needs the concerted efforts made from both sides. Despite the strong objections from China, Obama met with the Dalai Lama on Saturday. According to Ma, China’s Foreign Ministry and the Chinese embassy in the United States have lodged solemn representations to the US side in Beijing and Washington DC.