China Opposes Obama's Planned Meeting With the Dalai Lama

China reiterated its opposition to the Dalai Lama's upcoming meetings with senior U.S. officials--including President Barack Obama--later this month.

Beijing made its stance known upon the announcement in early February by White House spokesman Robert Gibbs that the Dalai Lama would visit Washington, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Ma Zhaoxu said in a statement.

China has had longstanding opposition to any contact between the Dalai Lama and senior U.S. leadership. Beijing's view, Ma said, remains both "consistent and unequivocal."

"We urge the U.S. side to realize the sensitive nature of Tibet-related issues," he added, "so as to protect China-U.S. relations from being undermined."

China Pledges Bigger Role on World Stage

China is to shoulder greater obligations in the world community in light of its growing national power, according to Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi in an address to the Munich Security Conference on February 5.

Since China's future has become increasingly linked with that of the rest of the world, Yang noted, Beijing will continue to honor its commitments for the sake of international peace and prosperity.

Yang's visit marked the first time a Chinese foreign minister has attended the annual security forum in Germany since it was founded in 1962.

A more developed China would "undertake more international responsibilities commensurate with its strength and status," Yang added.

For instance, he said, China has contributed greatly to international efforts to cope with the world financial crisis by helping establish a $120 billion Asian foreign exchange pool. It has also cancelled the debts of 49 poorer developing nations.

In addition, Beijing has deployed more than 10,000 peacekeepers to 24 UN missions worldwide--making China the single biggest contributor to peacekeeping operations among all five permanent members of the UN Security Council.