United States president Barack Obama met with the Dalai Lama on Wednesday in a quiet meeting to the dismay of China. The meeting took place at the White House and is the fourth time the president has met with the Dalai Lama since 2010.
The meeting was closed to the media as it has been since the two first met.
Obama was scheduled to campaign with Hillary Clinton on Wednesday but the event was postponed following Sunday’s mass shooting, which left 49 people dead. The White House quickly scheduled the meeting with the Dalai Lama in. The meeting is classified as a personal meeting.
China’s foreign ministry denounced the meeting and stated that it will harm the China-U.S. mutual trust and cooperation. China blames the Dalai Lama for Tibetans that practice self-immolation and consider him to be a separatist. Tibet is in a dispute with their independence from China.
The United States views Tibet as a part of China.
China has condemned every meeting between the United States and the Dalai Lama to date. The United States reaffirmed that Tibet is a part of China and that their policy on the matter has not changed.
“Our policy hasn’t changed after the meeting,” said White House officials. The Dalai Lama and Obama support a relationship between the United States and China.
