China has criticized US plans to invite the Dalai Lama to the White House to speak with the US president. Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lu Kang has reminded Washington that the 14th Dalai Lama leads a sometimes violent separatist movement that often operates under the pretext of religion.

"If President Obama meets with the Dalai Lama, it will send a wrong signal to separatist pro-Tibetan-independence groups -- and it will undermine the mutual trust and cooperation between China and the US.  China urges the US to honor its promise to recognise Tibet as part of China, and not to support Tibetan independence or any other separatist activities. We need to reiterate that any attempt to make use of the Tibetan issue to sabotage Chinese stability is doomed to fail," Lu said.